Mack Brown takes victory lap on North Carolina success at NFL Combine

UNC head coach Mack Brown was impressed by the Tar Heels’ showing in the 2022 NFL Draft Combine, and he went out of his way to congratulate all those who participated this year — notably, quarterback Sam Howell and running back Ty Chandler.

“I want to congratulate the guys that were in the NFL Combine this weekend. Sounds like everybody did a good job,” Brown said. “There were rave reviews about Sam (Howell) throwing the ball, and some of the receivers talking about how it was such a great ball but also easy to catch.”

While Howell entered the 2021 season as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, he fell short of those expectations as Brown’s UNC Tar Heels skidded to the finish line. However, he still threw for 3,056 yards, 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions — and while those are all career-worst totals, Howell is still a major steal in the eyes of some NFL Draft analysts, including Mel Kiper Jr.

Howell’s production took a serious dip when UNC lost its two leading rushers and two of its top receivers to the NFL Draft. So too did the Tar Heels’ entire team, as Brown’s program dropped from an 8-4 record in 2020 to a 6-7 record in 2021, losing to South Carolina and first-year head coach Shane Beamer in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. But Kiper, along with many other analysts, continued to praise Howell for the way he battled through the season.

“Probably the highlight of the weekend was Ty Chandler’s 4.38 (40-yard dash),” Brown continued. “That was the second-fastest time in the combine, so good for him. And as Coach Moody, our NFL expert, said — that could move him up in the draft right there. So hopefully all of the guys will use the combine… Good for the guys that were invited to the combine all five of them. Our Pro Day is on March 28th … all of our guys are getting ready to participate in our Pro Day, and that will highlight the guys that did not get to go to the combine, so we’re excited for them.:

Chandler, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound running back from Nashville, Tennessee started all 13 games this past season after transferring from Tennessee, and the second-team All-ACC honoree put together a tremendous performance in Brown’s offense. He rushed for 1,092 yards on 182 carries, both career highs, and averaged 6.0 yards per carry, while rushing for 13 touchdowns. Additionally, Chandler showed that he’s more than capable as a pass-catching back, reeling in 15 passes for 216 yards and another touchdown.

As Brown noted, Chandler’s 40-yard dash time was fast — while not quite the second-fastest time in the combine, Chandler did come in as the No. 3 fastest running back, trailing the leaders — Pierre Strong of South Dakota State and Isaiah Pacheco of Rutgers — by 0.01 seconds.