There was lots of speculation coming into last season as to who would be Carolina’s starting quarterback. It was a three-man competition between true freshman Sam Howell and redshirt freshmen Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder. For months, Mack Brown and his staff declined to name a starter until finally, just weeks before the start of the season, Howell began receiving first-team reps.
Understandably, Fortin elected to enter the transfer portal shortly after this decision, leaving Howell and Ruder as the only two scholarship QBs on the roster. Then, four games into the season, Ruder broke his leg and was forced to sit out the remainder of the year.