Analysis: Ahead of Howell's sophomore year, here's how other first-year QBs have fared at UNC

There's been plenty of speculation over the offseason about what to expect from Sam Howell during his sophomore season after the North Carolina quarterback threw for 3,641 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a true first-year.

Over the weekend, Pro Football Focus ranked Howell as the No. 4 quarterback in college football for the upcoming season in the latest example of pressure mounting on the young passer's shoulders.

Since Mack Brown's first stint as the head football coach at North Carolina began — in other words, an era of college football that has relied more heavily on the passing game — UNC has had two other true first-years attempt at least 100 passes in a season.

Here's a look at how those former Tar Heels' careers turned out and whether or not they lived up to the hype of leading a team as early as they possibly could.

Chuckie Burnette (1989-1991)

Compared to Howell, there certainly weren't as many bright spots or a shower of accolades in Burnette's first season with the Tar Heels.

UNC was in its second year of Brown's first tenure as a head coach in Chapel Hill, a season that would end with a dreary 1-10 record.

Burnette led the Tar Heels with 133 pass attempts, but he only completed 44 of them for 520 passing yards that year. He also threw 14 interceptions and just two touchdowns, which was one of the reasons UNC averaged 12.5 points per game.

After a dismal start to his college football career, Burnette saw action in only 104 downs during his sophomore year after upperclassman Todd Burnett stepped into the starting QB role.

By his junior year, Burnette had reclaimed the starting position, but an injury limited him to just seven games. Before his senior season had even begun, he made the decision to step away from the UNC football team.

Ronald Curry (1998-2001)

Curry, who also played point guard on the men's basketball team at UNC, arrived in Chapel Hill in 1998 right after Brown took the head coaching job at Texas and was coming off national player of the year recognition in football and basketball as a senior at Hampton High School. Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick had to settle for second-team All-Peninsula District after his 1997 high school season because Curry was named to the first-team.

But much like the next 20 years of UNC football in a post-Brown era, Curry's career as UNC's quarterback was a rollercoaster of highs and lows.

Initially, Curry wasn't supposed to be the Tar Heels' QB1. But when starter Oscar Davenport injured his knee during the fourth play of UNC's 1998 season-opener against Miami (Ohio), Curry was instantly thrown into a trial by fire.

He spent the season splitting time with Davenport, who returned from his injury for the third game of the season but was suspended in October of that same year. As a true first-year, Curry completed 44.9 percent of his passes for 975 yards, threw six touchdowns and seven interceptions and rushed for over 400 yards.

Curry fell victim to a sophomore slump the following season when he threw 10 interceptions before suffering a season-ending Achilles injury midway through the year.

In 2000, he reached the peak of his time at UNC when he threw for 2,325 yards and set a UNC record with 2,676 total yards. And everything came full circle when his performance declined at the start of his senior year, and he was forced to share the starting job with a young backup in Darian Durant.

Like Burnette and Curry, Howell was thrown into the driver's seat from day one, but last year's impressive ACC Rookie of the Year campaign bodes well for his chances to break the expectation for a mixed bag of a career established by his predecessors.

@McMastersJ

@DTHSports | sports@dailytarheel.com