What UNC’s triple python play says about Tar Heels QB Sam Howell and OC Phil Longo
This is the final installment of an 8-part series of the News & Observer and Herald Sun position-by-position examination of UNC’s football depth chart leading into the season opener on Friday at Virginia Tech.
North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell pitched adding a play known only as the triple python to offensive coordinator Phil Longo when he was still a freshman and only establishing himself as a college signal caller.
Who knows what the play actually entails; the Tar Heels were coy about defining it. That Longo added a version of the play to Howell’s repertoire says all you need to know about the relationship between the two.
“I don’t know if he could be more involved with me right now in the game planning,” Longo said. “We are, as I said before, we’re more into meeting where we collaborate.”
Howell felt comfortable recommending the play because he’s always felt that he has a voice in the offense -- even before he’d thrown 68 touchdowns in two seasons for the Heels.
The play itself was something Howell said he had success running in high school when his father, Duke, was the offensive coordinator at Sun Valley High School.
“We’d score on pretty much every time we ran it, so I’ve been pushing for it,” Howell said. “It’s probably one of my favorite plays I’ve ran in my life, so luckily we have a version of it in now and I’m excited about it.”
Longo said it didn’t take a long time to build the trust between himself and his quarterback. During Howell’s freshman season, Longo said “three or four weeks” into the regular season he started to believe Howell had a grasp of what to do. By the end of that season, they were on the same page as far as putting together the game plan.
UNC head coach Mack Brown said the relationship between the two is on par with how Greg Davis meshed with Vince Young and Colt McCoy on his teams at Texas.
Howell and Longo work well together, Brown said, because they have a similar drive and approach the game with a similar demeanor. Longo isn’t a yeller. Howell doesn’t like being yelled out. So they talk the game.
“They love to study video of pros and college and different teams,” Brown said. “They’re both just nuts when it comes to football. We’d call them gym rats a long time ago.”
When Longo is implementing the game plan for an opponent, he will put in three plays to attack the middle of the field. But if Howell favors the third choice, he’ll lean toward using that play because of Howell’s comfort level with the call.
The collaboration doesn’t mean Howell is swiping left and right on what plays to call. He said he picks his spot when asking for specific plays like the triple python.
“Honestly, it probably hasn’t been that many times where I’ve gotten my ideas in, but when they have gone in, they’ve been pretty successful,” Howell said. “I spent a lot of time just watching film and watching tape and I would like to think I have a pretty good understanding of pretty good knowledge of football.”
Longo said his philosophy of coaching quarterbacks is to build to the point where the player could go on the field and call the offense. He said there are very few players who ever reach that point, NFL included, and it’s even more rare in college.
“You very rarely ever get to that point, from a knowledge standpoint and a trust standpoint and a leadership standpoint,” Longo said. “...We’re on a quest to try to get there.”
Probable UNC quarterback depth chart
| STARTER | ||
| Sam Howell (JR) | 6-1 | 220 |
| RESERVES | ||
| Jacolby Criswell (SO) | 6-0 | 220 |
| Drake Maye (FR) | 6-5 | 220 |
Previous UNC preview installments
Offensive line
Running backs
Defensive line
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Wide receivers
Special teams
Other Triangle ACC previews
Quarterback
Offensive line
Running backs
Defensive line
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Wide receivers
This story was originally published August 31, 2021 at 5:25 AM with the headline "What UNC’s triple python play says about Tar Heels QB Sam Howell and OC Phil Longo."