Howell holds a number of North Carolina Tar Heels records, including career passing yards (10,283) and touchdowns (92), the single-season mark for passing TDs (38) and single-game tallies for yards (550) and TDs (6). Drake Maye, the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, eclipsed Howell in single-season passing yardage.

Howell had 5-plus passing touchdowns three times as a Tar Heel, happening once in each of his three seasons, during conference games against Virginia Tech (2019), Wake Forest (2020) and Virginia (2021).

Howell attended and starred at Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina, totaling 13,415 passing yards and 145 touchdowns through the air, in addition to 3,621 yards and 60 TDs on the ground.

His play resulted in him being ranked the No. 2 overall recruit in his home state. Originally committed to Florida State University, Howell flipped to North Carolina after the hiring of Mack Brown as Tar Heels coach.

Howell is the only Sun Valley alum to appear in the NFL.