The term “third times a charm” was first recorded in the year 1839 with origins that likely date back to centuries before then. It is also the phrase transfer Howard Sampson used to describe his recruitment to Texas Tech, which finally was able to obtain a pledge from the massive left tackle in the winter portal cycle.

Sampson becoming a Red Raider, even the third time this staff had tried to get him dating back to his high school days, happened out of pure chance.

“I'll be honest, I didn't plan on getting the portal like, I love (North) Carolina,” Sampson told the media Thursday. “I loved the coaching staff. But obviously coach (Mack) Brown got fired. My position coach got let go, and the hiring process was just taking too long, and I wanted to make sure I was in a good position. So that's really where it led to, and then obviously getting into the portal and taking my visit here, just everything just felt right. We’re building something special here. You can see as soon as you get on campus, facilities and coaches and all that.”

A native of Humble, Sampson’s collegiate career has taken quite the jump since his time at North Texas, where he featured in just six games across two seasons.

The Red Raiders were able to get Sampson this time over the likes of LSU, Missouri and Georgia. Making the jump from essentially a non-factor at UNT to becoming one of the nation’s most sought-after portal entries was the product of Sampson’s trust in his position coach at both UNT and North Carolina, Randy Clements.

“The first time I got into the portal, it was really about development,” Sampson said. “If you didn't know who my position coach was in Carolina, he was my position coach at North Texas my first year. So I really trusted coach Clements with my future. He just made a promise to take me through it the right way. He wasn't gonna throw me in there, I had a role. There was a process about how to build everything.”

In the midst of a spring session where offensive linemen have been shuffling around the trenches to help avoid complacency, Sampson has stayed secure at the left tackle spot. At 6-foot-8, 340 pounds, his size has very few comparators, and he has the competitive drive to back it up on the field.

“It's been great. Very humble, hard working, competitive kid,” Sampson’s position coach Clay McGuire said Monday. “No ego with him. He truly has a lot of talent, very high ceiling. But it's one of those rare combinations where he wants to be coached, he wants to be pushed. He's not a high maintenance guy. He's not an entitled kid. He's a very hard working, competitive kid that goes out there and gets after it. So it's been a pleasure having him, it's been a pleasure in our room and coaching him.

I'm looking at this wall (in the media room), got a guy like (Michael) Crabtree, a guy like that. I mean when he stepped between the white lines, nobody worked hard as he did, and obviously he was the best player and the kind of talent he was, you know? I mean, it's pretty impressive when those guys are your hardest workers and most competitive, that's a good combination.”

Sampson has been touted for his ability to get to the second level, notorious for mauling past the first defender in his path to help carve out opposing linebackers and secondary.

Sampson mentioned he felt like his pass set has improved significantly this spring, largely in part to his daily battles against Romello Height. Across the board, Sampson has an understanding of what it will take for the offensive line to succeed and was confident this could be reached.

“I would just say there's a lot of potential. We just got to continue to build chemistry,” Sampson said. “And that's with any o-line. Even, like last year at Carolina, I felt like we really didn’t get into a groove until the end of the season. We kind of started slow. Just gotta have chemistry, you know what I’m saying. I feel like that's what the coach staff is doing here, making it hard early. So that we go through the hard times with each other, and then we build chemistry before fall camp comes and week one comes. We just gotta keep building chemistry and we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”