CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown named true freshman Sam Howell North Carolina's first-team quarterback.

Brown stated early in preseason camp that he would expect more separation after UNC's second scrimmage. That second scrimmage was on Saturday.

Howell beat out redshirt freshmen Cade Fortin and Jace Ruder for the spot. On Monday, UNC offensive coordinator Phil Longo said that Howell had the "best combination" of arm strength and athletic ability from among the quarterback options.

“We’ve been looking at our quarterback situation very closely," Brown said on Sunday inside the Kenan Football Center. "And we’re concerned about not having enough leadership on offense and one of your true leaders has to be your quarterback. The guys are in a tough spot because all three of them are good enough and all three of them are working hard enough, but Sam Howell will start taking the snaps with the blue team, our first team."

Added Brown, "Cade and Jace will be working more with the white team. We played four quarterbacks last year here. Obviously, we need all three of them. They will alternate some with the blue team obviously as we continue to go through, but the difference right now is that Sam’s just been more consistent than the other two. Jace has had some up and down injuries and Cade’s had a little bit of a sore arm, too, and Sam hasn’t been hurt. So, we’ve got the quarterback situation, at least for now, where we know who’s going to be working with each group.”

Howell arrived in Chapel Hill in January as part of UNC's 2019 recruiting class. The Monroe, N.C. product was ranked the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback and No. 93 overall ranked prospect in the 247Sports Composite.

Brown said that after two weeks of preseason camp the staff had a strong idea who was set to lead the offense.

"We’ve got some very experienced analysts and some quality control guys, and they’re watching every play," Brown said. "So, we have pretty good evaluation of everybody on our team every day. We spend an hour and a half in a staff meeting every day and a lot of that is talking about who are the best players, who are the toughest players, who are the most passionate players for football and how many plays can each one play."

Some camp injuries to Ruder and Fortin allowed Howell to emerge. Additionally, the former 247Sports Composite four-star product was the most consistent of the trio.

"Jace had a slight pull of a hamstring, so he couldn’t run and that’s one of the more effective things he does," Brown said. "So, it set him back some. It’s hard to step and throw with a hamstring (injury). Cade’s had a little bit of a sore arm some. So, that hurt him a little bit, but we feel like, right now, Sam’s a consistent runner and passer. So, he’s doing both pretty well.”

Brown said he met with Longo on Saturday night to make the decision. Longo broke the news to the quarterbacks on Sunday morning during position meetings. With 14 days until the 2019 season opener, Brown wanted to name a first-team quarterback in order to give that individual a chance to lead in practice.

“I feel like that whoever we put with the ones would feel better about themselves and start leading better because the coaches have given them a voice with the blue (team)," Brown said. "So, we think that that’ll help even though Jace and Cade, they’re still going to lead. We came down to do something on the goal line this morning really early and Jace was the first one down the field to chest bump with the offensive lineman. These are three really good people, good young people at quarterback, so they’re going to help each other and be positive.”

On Sunday, Brown did say that the quarterback situation could change before the opener in two weeks.

"That doesn’t mean that if Sam plays awful tomorrow that he’ll stay there," Brown said. "Everybody goes up and down every day. When you earn the right to be in that position, you’ve got to keep it.”

The Tar Heels open the season against South Carolina in Charlotte's Bank of American Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 3:30 pm. The game will be on ESPN.