Howard remains solid on Mississippi State
It was back in early December when Starkville High School running back Amariyon Howard made the call that he wanted to be at Mississippi State. He made a verbal pledge to then-Bulldogs head coach Joe Moorhead and company as Howard decided he’d play collegiately right in his own hometown.
Things have changed since then on the MSU front. Moorhead is of course no longer the head man at State. Mike Leach is. There’s a new staff full of new faces.
There’s one thing that hasn’t changed though according to Howard. The Starkville senior-to-be says he’s still just as committed to the Bulldogs.
“I always say I committed to the school and not the coach,” Howard said earlier this week. “Now as Mike Leach comes in with the new offense, I think I can adjust well to the new offense that he’s bringing in.”
There is a confidence about Howard that he can come in and slide right into Leach’s air-raid style. After all, Starkville High runs a somewhat similar type of offense orchestrated by highly recruited quarterback and Florida State commit Luke Altmyer. Howard showed flashes of his versatility in that scheme this past season. He ran 140 times for 833 yards and six touchdowns. He was a threat in the passing game as well, catching the football 18 times for 205 yards and two more scores. It all makes Howard think he can step right in and not be overwhelmed by the Leach way of doing things.
Howard also said he’s had a chance to get to know Leach a little since Leach was hired in January. He said the two hit it off.
“He’s a great person,” Howard said of Leach. “I like his personality. I feel like I had a great connection with him when I came there to State. I’m looking forward to (playing for him).”
The question now on Howard is how much might a strong senior season make the Bulldog have to ultimately fight to maintain him? So far, Howard has three reported offers – from MSU, Southern Miss and Louisiana-Monroe. It’s certainly feasible a strong final year at Starkville would drive up interest for the back rated a consensus three star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN.
That said, Howard doesn’t sound like a player with eyes elsewhere. He’s even currently doing some of his offseason training with family members on MSU’s campus.
Next year at this time, it’s very possible he’ll be training on campus as an actual Bulldog instead of just a committed one.
“I always liked the school and what they have going up there,” Howard said.
