Everyone was shocked when quarterback Sam Howell dropped all the way to the Washington Commanders with the first pick of the fifth round in the 2022 NFL draft. Some considered Howell the top quarterback prospect in his class, but a difficult final season at North Carolina impacted Howell’s stock.
For Howell, it’s never been a question of his talent. Howell has a big arm; he’s accurate and a much better athlete than many realize. One knock on Howell coming out of college was his mechanics, specifically his footwork.
UNC played in an RPO-heavy scheme in college, where Howell didn’t play under center often. Things are different in the NFL. Even as the NFL has trended toward different college concepts, quarterbacks must be able to play under center. That can impact a quarterback’s mechanics and footwork if he’s not doing it.
While Howell felt he improved his mechanics last season with quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, it was a specific emphasis for him in the offseason. Howell has spoken often of his personal quarterback coach, Anthony Boone — a former starting quarterback at Duke. When Howell returns home to North Carolina, he spends plenty of time with Boone.
After Wednesday’s opening practice at training camp, Howell was asked if he focused on anything specific in the offseason.
“I’m always trying to get better mentally and be more comfortable in this system,” Howell said. “I think I did a lot of good work at that stuff and then just get with my private quarterback coach back home, Anthony Boone, and working on my feet and tying my feet to the concepts that we have. Some of ’em are new, some of ’em are things that I haven’t done before. So just trying to sharpen those things up, and I feel like I’m in a good place.”
Good stuff from Howell. Instead of just doing regular footwork drills, Boone and Howell worked on marrying concepts from offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s scheme with Howell’s footwork. That’s the best type of work because it will become repetitive for Howell during the season.