When Drake Maye had his breakout game as a redshirt freshman at North Carolina — accounting for five touchdowns in a close road win over Appalachian State in September 2022 — his best friend Sam Howell was there.
After a 12-yard touchdown run to start the second half, Maye immediately found Howell just outside the end zone. Howell, then a rookie with the Washington Commanders, was waiting. They celebrated with a dap and chest bump — a small, shared celebration between the two UNC quarterbacks who had spent the previous year in the same meeting rooms, weight rooms and practices.
“He’s my best friend,” Howell said of Maye at Vikings training camp last week. “He means a lot to me. We’re going through a lot of the same things, and he’s just a great friend. We challenge each other to make each other better in the offseason. … He’s like a brother.”
The friends will reunite this week during joint practices between the Vikings and New England Patriots on Wednesday and Thursday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan. While much of the buzz will center on Maye’s head-to-head matchup with fellow 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, the more compelling storyline might be the quarterback on the other sideline who helped shape Maye.
“He’s the guy,” Maye said of Howell in a 2024 interview with Kay Adams, days after being drafted by the Patriots. “I’m looking forward to maybe seeing him along the road and hopefully, maybe, playing against each other one day.”
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell, left, and New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye exchange autographed jerseys after a game between the teams on Sept. 15, 2024. (Greg M. Cooper/The Associated Press)
On his second drive in Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans, Howell plunged in from a yard out for Minnesota’s first touchdown — capping a 14-play, 94-yard march that lasted over seven minutes. He was accurate, on time and in rhythm — staples of Kevin O’Connell’s system — while mixing arm strength with touch on deeper throws in an impressive showing. It was the kind of composed, sustained drive Maye often saw in 2021, when he spent his true freshman season in Chapel Hill backing up Howell.
Their roles may have flipped, but the communication between the two has barely changed.
At Chapel Hill, Maye peppered Howell with quarterback questions — a habit that continued after Howell reached the NFL. In 2023, as Howell prepared for his first pro season as a starter with the Commanders, Maye was gearing up for his final college year, calling Howell four to five times a week, according to Maye’s brother Beau.