Davey O’Brien Foundation
FORT WORTH, Texas — North Carolina sophomore Sam Howell is the week 11 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week following his record-setting performance against Wake Forest on Saturday.
Howell set UNC single-game records for passing yards (550), passing touchdowns (6) and total touchdowns (7) in the Tar Heels’ 59-53 comeback victory. His six touchdown passes equaled the single-game Atlantic Coast Conference record, while his 550 passing yards ranked third in league history.
Howell connected on 32 of 45 pass attempts (71.1 percent), and also rushed for 21 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown with 4:11 remaining. In all, he accounted for 571 of the team’s school-record 742 yards of total offense (76.9 percent). North Carolina scored 35 unanswered points to overcome a 21-point third-quarter deficit and match the largest comeback in school history.
The product of Indian Trail, N.C., also earned Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and ACC Quarterback of the Week honors. He is the second ACC player to be named Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week in 2020, joining Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence. Howell has appeared on the Davey O’Brien Great 8 list twice this season.
The other quarterbacks on this week’s Great 8 list were Notre Dame’s Ian Book, Matt Corral of Ole Miss, UTSA’s Frank Harris, Tyler Shough of Oregon, Tulsa’s Zach Smith, Kyle Trask of Florida and Marshall’s Grant Wells.
The Davey O’Brien Foundation was created in 1977, and the National Quarterback Award, the oldest and most prestigious college quarterback award, was first issued in 1981. Over its time, the Davey O’Brien Foundation has given away more than $1 million in scholarships and university grants to help high school and college athletes transform leadership on the field into leadership in life.
In 1938, O’Brien, who was a star quarterback for TCU, became the first player ever to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Award in the same year. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. For more information, visit www.DaveyOBrien.org.
2020 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week Honorees
Week 1: Brady White, Memphis
Week 2: Trevor Lawrence, Clemson
Week 3: Dillon Gabriel, UCF
Week 4: K.J. Costello, Mississippi State
Week 5: Shane Buechele, SMU
Week 6: Connor Bazelak, Missouri
Week 7: Mac Jones, Alabama
Week 8: Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati
Week 9: Matt Corral, Ole Miss
Week 10: Kyle Trask, Florida
Week 11: Sam Howell, North Carolina