Who’s the best Sam in North Carolina?

[myDeaconmyhand]

Sam Howell came into 2021 with enormous hype as a potential 1st round pick and even dark horse Heisman candidate, yet our very own Sam Hartman has dueled Howell to a draw this season in nearly every metric besides rushing yards.

Hartman Passing: 116/184, 63%, 1615 yards passing, 9.6 AYA, 14TD/3 INT, 158.6 Passer Rating
Hartman Rushing: 40/125, 3.1 YPC, 3 TD

Howell Passing: 112/185, 60.5%, 1697 yards passing, 9.7 AYA, 16 TD/5 INT, 160.7 Passer Rating
Howell Rushing: 79/396, 5 YPC, 3 TD


Although both of these stat lines are excellent so far for a college QB, Howell is being treated as a disappointment because his team sucks, and Hartman isn’t getting any recognition at all.

 

[liveanddiedeac]

Sam Howell came into 2021 with enormous hype as a potential 1st round pick and even dark horse Heisman candidate, yet our very own Sam Hartman has dueled Howell to a draw this season in nearly every metric besides rushing yards.

Hartman Passing: 116/184, 63%, 1615 yards passing, 9.6 AYA, 14TD/3 INT, 158.6 Passer Rating
Hartman Rushing: 40/125, 3.1 YPC, 3 TD

Howell Passing: 112/185, 60.5%, 1697 yards passing, 9.7 AYA, 16 TD/5 INT, 160.7 Passer Rating
Howell Rushing: 79/396, 5 YPC, 3 TD


Although both of these stat lines are excellent so far for a college QB, Howell is being treated as a disappointment because his team sucks, and Hartman isn’t getting any recognition at all.

Well, you had the national media thinking Howell was going to be a Heisman candidate and that basically was over after their first game.

 

[myDeaconmyhand]

Sam Howell: 21yo, 6’1, 220, 5.07 40yd speed
Sam Hartman: 22yo, 6’1, 208, 5.08 40yd speed

 

[Deaconblue]

Quarterbacks get much more credit for wins and blame for losses than they deserve. Thus, Howell gets a lot of blame for u*NC-CH losing and falling out of the polls.

Sam Hartman hasn't had one of those games so far where it looked like he just carried the team to victory. If Wake had scored in the last 21 seconds of regulation on a Hartman bomb or two, the narrative might change.

I thought Wake managed the last 21 seconds of regulation poorly. Hartman didn't have a real chance for heroics.

 

[wakelaw13]

Quarterbacks get much more credit for wins and blame for losses than they deserve.

This is true. I also think QBs get more credit or blame for their offense's production or lack thereof than is due. The comparison between Howell and Hartman is a fantastic example.

In 2020, Howell had the highest QBR in the ACC. Higher than Trevor Lawrence. Hartman was 7th, just behind Armstrong. I feel obligated to acknowledge that 2020 was a complete shit show and our team was impacted even more than most. But there is no denying that Howell had a monster year. He also had a huge year in 2019, and as a true freshman was second in the ACC in QBR behind only Lawrence by a small margin. And, he had 38 TDs and only 7 INTs, a better rate than Lawrence at 36/8.

Howell was phenomenal in 2019 and 2020. He deserved a lot of the credit for UNC's offensive production, but he received too much of the credit. The reality was UNC had a good offensive line, two NFL running backs and two NFL receivers. Basically any QB in the ACC outside of Lawrence would have seen their QBR rise significantly with those guys around them.

This year, Howell and Hartman are virtually tied through 6 games with very similar schedules. Hartman has a better TD/INT rate, and Howell has better rushing numbers. Based on the last three seasons, it's pretty obvious why Howell was seen as a potential first round pick. He's really really good. To me, the reason why the statistical gap between them has closed is equally obvious: Hartman has the clear advantage at WR this year.

 

[2&2 Slider To Leyritz]

Darnold