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North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell is expected to be one of the biggest stars in college football this year and is already building upon the brand of his name, image and likeness that he is expected to carry with him throughout the coming fall season. While Howell has already partnered with, “TABLE,” an organization that delivers meals to underprivileged kids, he’s now partnering with a rather popular fast-food chain.
On his Instagram account on Wednesday, Howell announced a partnership with Bojangles, a fast-food, fried chicken joint from the area. He commented on the partnership in the caption of the post.
“It’s Bo Time,” Howell wrote on his Instagram post. “Pumped to announce my first brand partner will be @bojangles! From charity events to community fundraising, Bojangles shares my passion for impacting the community with organizations like @table_nc. Excited to share the season long collaborations we have planned!”
Howell is just one of many players to start partnering with companies after the passing of name, image and likeness rules recently. Howell spoke at ACC Media Day on Wednesday about his excitement of partnering with TABLE.
“I think the main thing for me is I want to keep the main thing the main thing, which is winning football games,” Howell said. “You want to take advantage of the opportunity you have. I’ve done some things, partnered with a charity called Table in Chapel Hill. We deliver meals to underprivileged kids come Chapel Hill. That’s my first partnership.
“I just want to do something where I can give back to the community and make an impact on someone’s life. We have this phenomenal platform; this incredible opportunity and I just want to make a difference in the world and TABLE was a great organization to partner with. They do such a good job feeding kids that are underprivileged kids that don’t have opportunity to eat three meals a day. So, it’s just a great opportunity for me, and they’ve been so helpful. So, I’m super excited for that partnership.”
A four-star recruit in North Carolina’s 2019 recruiting class, Howell stepped in right away from Day 1 and was the Tar Heels’ starter. He completed 61.4% of his passes for 3,641 yards and 38 touchdowns, while throwing just seven interceptions. That earned Howell Freshman All-American honors and he was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2019. Howell continued that impressive play in 2020 with 3,586 yards, 30 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions on 68.1% of passes completed.
Howell has also been a focal point of the Tar Heels’ turnaround under new head coach Mack Brown. After Larry Fedora won just five games between 2017 and 2018, North Carolina has gone 15-10 over the last two years and made two bowl games, including the Orange Bowl in 2020.