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North Carolina lands 4-star QB who had been committed to Florida State

Nick Bromberg
College football and motorsports writer
Sam Howell is a North Carolina native and had been verbally committed to FSU for months. (Via Rivals)
Sam Howell is a North Carolina native and had been verbally committed to FSU for months. (Via Rivals)

Mack Brown scored a big recruiting flip in his first recruiting season back in college football.

Four-star quarterback Sam Howell signed with the Tar Heels on Wednesday. Howell had been committed to Florida State but, according to Rivals, started to look around after FSU offensive coordinator Walt Bell became the new coach at UMass. Bell’s departure allowed Brown and his offensive coordinator Phil Longo (formerly of Ole Miss) to persuade Howell to join the Tar Heels.

Howell, a North Carolina native, is the No. 3 recruit in the state and the No. 4 pro-style QB in the country according to Rivals.

The in-state quarterback and Rivals100 prospect flipped his commitment from Florida State to North Carolina on the first day of the Early Signing Period after having a long conversation with new offensive coordinator Phil Longo and staying overnight in Chapel Hill on Sunday.

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Howell could provide North Carolina with some stability at the quarterback position. It’s been an area of weakness for the team since Mitch Trubisky left for the NFL and was drafted at No. 2 by the Chicago Bears in 2017. North Carolina quarterbacks have thrown for 35 touchdowns and 30 interceptions over the past two seasons and the Tar Heels have averaged fewer than 250 passing yards per game.

Not-so-coincidentally, UNC has won five games over the past two seasons. That’s why Brown is back at the school following the firing of Larry Fedora.

Howell’s addition puts North Carolina’s recruiting class into the top 50. It’s also a big blow to Florida State’s, which has not recruited as well as it typically does in Willie Taggart’s first full recruiting cycle as head coach.

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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