Ranking the top 10 college football quarterbacks playing in 2020 (We miss Justin Fields)

No. 2 quarterback in college football: Sam Howell, North Carolina

Yep — this is true sophomore Sam Howell who resides in Chapel Hill that I’m calling the second-best quarterback in college football for the 2020 season. No, it’s not a misprint.

If Fields and Morgan were playing this season, Howell wouldn’t be at No. 2 on this list, to be sure. But the Tar Heels signal-caller entering his second campaign at the helm of Mack Brown’s offense would undoubtedly be in the top five still. What he did as a true freshman was simply that impressive.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pound youngster was the catalyst for an immediate turnaround at North Carolina under Brown as he immediately lit a fire under the offense that simply hadn’t been there. Leading the Heels to a 7-6 season after going 5-18 in the two previous years, Howell threw for 3,641 yards while completing 61.4 percent of his passes and ended up with 38 touchdowns to just seven interceptions.

There were honestly few areas where Howell definitively struggled in his first season with UNC, especially when you consider that he was thrown into the flames as a true freshman. Where he truly excelled, though, was as a downfield passer, hooking up with Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown. Those connections should not only still be there in 2020 but could be even better with more time to build a rapport.

Howell was a highly rated quarterback recruit for a reason and that was on full display. After some strong recruiting classes from Brown in Chapel Hill, the young quarterback should have a better supporting cast around him now, too. That puts all the pieces in place for Howell to be the next bonafide star quarterback once No. 1 on our list heads for the NFL.