He and two other LHS seniors sat behind a table in the gymnasium as the school gathered to help them celebrate their decision to play sports at the collegiate level. Of the three, Howard was the only one whose college of choice was still in doubt.
In front of Branton Hall was a ball cap advertising Arkansas State. Lindsey Sims had a cap from Jefferson State Community College, the school she signed a softball scholarship with last week. In front of Howard were three caps - two orange, one blue - representing Auburn, Clemson and Kentucky. Howard tried on all three caps. And took all three off, to the amusement of the students gathered in the gym. The senior finally reached into a bag under the table and pulled out another cap. And with that his decision was made. Howard will be a Clemson Tiger this fall.
“I just felt like this was the best decision for me,” Howard said.
Howard originally committed to Auburn, but changed his mind after finding out he may not get to play on offense on the Plains. Auburn listed Howard as an athlete, not as a running back.
“I want to run the ball,” Howard said. “That’s what I’ve done for 13 years. (Clemson) never said anything about defense.”
The 6-0, 195-pound senior rushed for 1,146 yards in 2009 and averaged over 12 yards per carry. He is one of two running backs to sign with Clemson on Wednesday. The other is Demont Buice of Gaston. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said both players bring a lot to the team.
“As y’all know we have not been carrying a big inventory of running backs around here the last couple of years,” Swinney said in a press conference on Wednesday. “And really been playing with fire to be honest with you. We just haven’t had a lot of depth. So I’m real excited about the two young men that we got.
“I’m real excited about those two men. Very different kind of guys. Demont, if you’ve seen his film, this guy is a monster. He’s big, strong, 220-plus pound back that’s got great speed and change of direction and power. And then DJ is a little bit taller than CJ (Spiller), 196 pounds, a sprinter, can absolutely fly. I feel like those two guys can be a great fit for our scheme.”
Howard’s teammate Branton Hall is glad to have his decision made.
“It’s real relieving,” Hall said. “It’s good to not have to worry about having to choose.”
Hall will play safety for the Red Wolves. In his senior year at LHS Hall recorded 32 solo tackles and assisted on 14. He had four pass deflections and two interceptions.
“Branton played defensive end when we first started watching him, so you can see that he is not afraid of contact after watching him play amongst the big boys at the line of scrimmage,” Arkansas State head coach Steve Roberts said in a press conference on Wednesday. “He possesses that great explosiveness off the line of scrimmage.
“They moved him back to defensive back and he also played in the backfield offensively last year as well. He is a very good football player - a very physical football player. He is a tremendous track athlete as well, so we’re very excited about Branton.”
Lincoln head football coach Chad Martin said both Howard and Hall exemplified the type student athletes he wants at Lincoln.
“Those two have the type of character we want all of our players to have,” Martin said. “They work hard every day.”
Martin said both players should transition to the college level without too many problems.
“They know what it takes to play against great talent,” Martin said. “I think it’ll be an easy transition, but it’s not going to be easy.”
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