The youngest starting quarterback in college football plays in New York, but it's not his age that made him go viral — it's his wild, unorthodox throwing motion.
At the age of just 17, Chris Howell earned the starting spot for Long Island University, which plays in the Northeast Conference of FCS. After an injury forced the team to call on Howell to start, he made his debut in September on quite the stage: on the road at Baylor, a member of the Big 12 Conference in football-crazy Texas.
"Everything just dropped to my stomach, then when I got on the field, felt normal," said Howell.
Though it didn't look normal, at least to those who have watched football before. That's because of how he threw the ball, as his sidearm sling stunned the announcers. And the opponent. And the internet.
Many were in awe, describing his style as "unorthodox" and "softball pitching a go-route."
For Howell, a Queens native, it was another day on the gridiron — though his wild throwing style garnered plenty of attention.
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"I woke up to a bunch of messages, which was kind of cool," he told NBC New York. "I like the attention, get known for what I’m doing for a long time."
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For as long as he can remember, Howell has thrown left-handed and side-armed. That goes all the way back to his days playing the game as a kid with his older brother, who is a cornerback at LIU as well.
"When he was younger, he was trying to throw how I would throw, but his hands weren’t as big as mine at the time," said Jorden Bennett. "So he was just trying to get it the way he could, so it has motion to kind of push."
Howell said the throwing motion is now a habit — one that has been seen in the NFL before, from the likes of Bernie Kosar, Philip Rivers and even two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes. The side-arm deliveries can deceive defenses and defy coaching.
"He’s been throwing it like that all his life, so to him it’s no different, so as coaches we’ve gotta get through it," said Long Island University Head Coach Ron Cooper.
Cooper said he's in no position to try and tell Howell — a high school valedictorian and finance major — that he's wrong.
"He’s a smart kid, he’s competitive, he’s got a calmness," said Cooper.
