Sam Howell is an American football quarterback who will play for the Washington Commanders in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the fifth round of the NFL draft by the Commanders as the 144th overall pick. 

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Howell was born on February 16th, 2000 in Waynesville, North Carolina. He attended and played his high school football at Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina where he set the high school record for total offensive yards with 17,036, ranking second with 13,145 passing yards. After initially committing to Florida State, a conversation with the University of North Carolina head coach Mack Brown convinced Howell, who was a four-star, top-100 overall recruit nationally to stay in his home state and play for the Tar Heels instead. 

In his freshman year, he won an open competition to become the starting quarterback for the Tar Heels, thus becoming the first-ever freshman to do so. Howell thus started all 13 games in 2019 and finished the regular season completing 234 of 388 passes for 3,347 yards, with 35 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. In the Tar Heels’ bowl game, he threw for 294 yards and managed three more touchdowns in the 2019 Military Bowl. He was named MVP for his performance, and was named the ACC Rookie of the Year, and also given third-team All-ACC honours. 

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In his sophomore year,  in 2020, Howell was a second-team All-ACC pick and Manning Award finalist. By this time he had established a reputation as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. In his junior year, Howell accumalated three games of 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing. This put him behind only Lamar Jackson (four) over the past 25 seasons. He further set UNC career records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offence, while throwing a touchdown in all 37 games- at least one touchdown in every single game he had played. His glittering college career has seen him rewarded by the Commanders with a 4 year contract. 
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At 6’0”, Howell might possess a below-average height for a quarterback, but is seen as a tough quarterback with a strong build, possessing good overall arm strength and a very catchable deep throw in his armoury. He has the athleticism to both run in between as well as bounce off tackles, and also has the ability to create plays with his legs. 

Interestingly, Howell’s grandmother is Korean- after his Grandad met her while he was stationed in Korea during the war. Sam also strictly avoids beef and seafood- with chicken being his only preferred meat option.