Can Miami football flip Florida State QB commit Sam Howell?
The Miami football program is still searching for a quarterback in their Class of 2019 and ’20. Can they flip Florida State commit Sam Howell?
Howell is the 87th ranked player overall, the third-ranked pro-style quarterback and second-ranked player in North Carolina in the Class of 2019. The advantage that the Miami football program has over Florida State is that Howell would have a better chance to compete to be the starting quarterback in 2019.
Florida State returns starter Deondre Francois and 2017 starter James Blackman at quarterback. If Howell honors his commitment to the Seminoles he would likely be facing a redshirt season in 2019. Howell would then have to battle with Blackman who has a full year experience as a starter to be the Seminoles signal-caller in 2020.
At Miami, he would come in and have to compete with returning starter N’Kosi Perry, fellow redshirt Freshman Cade Weldon and Jarren Williams who will be coming off his redshirt Freshman heading into next season.
Howell would be a major addition to the Miami football program. Head Coach Mark Richt and his son and Quarterback Coach Jon Richt reportedly visited with Howell this week. Rivals.Com summed up the Hurricanes recruitment of Howell earlier this week.
"“Miami is the other major contender for Howell and the Hurricanes were one of the top three programs for him when he originally announced his commitment in the spring. The Canes have been pushing hard for Howell to flip and Mark Richt made the trip to see Howell at the end of last week.There is a lot that they like in Coral Gables and they see how talented that team is. They believe that team could really go places with a quality quarterback under center. Over the next few days coaches from all three schools will visit Howell. Miami quarterbacks coach Jon Richt is scheduled to visit Howell on Tuesday.”"
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"Out of the three teams vying for Howell’s signed National Letter of Intent, Richt and his staff at Miami have the best relationship with Howell but momentum is on the side of the Tar Heels at this point."
Rivals estimated Florida State’s chances at keeping Howell as part of their recruiting class at less than 50 percent. With their opinion that the Hurricanes have the best relationship with Howell, signing him might not seem like as much of a long shot as it once was.
Florida State Offensive Coordinator Walt Bell was hired as the new Head Coach at Massachusetts. That has helped land Miami and North Carolina back in the running. Earlier this week Howell told the Charlotte Observer that Bell’s departure from Florida State “would have a major impact on my decision.”
Howell also discussed his relationship with Richt.
"“Mark Richt has done a really good job recruiting me,” he said. “And he’s a really, really good coach. He’s really smart and he came and talked about what he does offensively, and it was really impressive.”"
Howell’s assessment of what Richt does offensively should soothe the Miami football fans who claim Richt’s offense would kill any chance that the Hurricanes have of getting high-level recruits to sign with UM.
dark. Next. Two high level Miami football recruits announce decision day
Howell is expected to sign early on the early signing date on December 19, but he told Langston Wertz of the Charlotte Observer he didn’t know when he would sign. If Howell does wind up signing early, it’s expected that he would also be an early enrollee.