The Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. kept Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule away from Chapel Hill on Monday. But that didn’t keep the team, amidst its extensive search for a quarterback, entirely away from the latest leg of their journey.
Next up on the pro-day parade was University of North Carolina’s showcase for Sam Howell. So with Rhule and general manager Scott Fitterer not making the visit, Carolina sent director of player personnel Pat Stewart and college scouting director Cole Spencer to see the Tar Heels’ all-time leading passer rip.
And rip he did . . .
After a play fake, Howell set up deep in the pocket and let this fly. pic.twitter.com/xTfqZWVXBA
— Ellis L. Williams (@BookofEllis) March 28, 2022
We’ll call this creative pocket mobility pic.twitter.com/exSkipFdfk
— Ellis L. Williams (@BookofEllis) March 28, 2022
The Waynesville, N.C. native is now the fifth notable passing prospect of the 2022 class to go under the pro-day microscope. Last week, the Panthers watched Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Liberty’s Malik Willis, Ole Miss’ Matt Corral and Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder take the stage.
Of those four, Fitterer and Rhule were both in attendance for three—Pickett’s, Willis’ and Corral’s. Ridder, like Howell, had Stewart (as well as senior personnel executive Jeff Morrow and scout Joel Patten) with eyes on his.
Howell, however, won’t go without a personal meeting with the top of the Panthers’ brass. When speaking with media after his session, the 21-year-old said he’s set for an in-person visit with the Panthers ahead of the draft.
