After a long, hard road, UCLA transfer Theo Howard is 'taking in every moment' at OU
After everything — a serious wrist injury at UCLA, a difficult decision to transfer to Oklahoma, a torn Achilles’ injury after he got to Norman — Theo Howard finally got to play football last weekend.
“It was really great, man,” Howard said Tuesday. “It’s really been a long road for me this past year-and-a-half, I would say.”
Howard led the Sooners with five catches in their 48-0 victory over Missouri State in the 2020 season opener back on Sept. 12. It was a reflection of his natural gifts, but more a statement on his work ethic both learning Lincoln Riley’s system and rehabbing his injuries.
“Yeah, he’s done a really nice job,” Riley said. “He’s picked up our stuff. I think we were able to identify early on with him — from his UCLA film and some of the early time we had with him — some key areas we want him to improve, and I think he’s really consciously attacked those areas. So I think he’s becoming a more complete player.”
Theo Howard
Ty Russell / OU Athletics
The 6-foot, 182-pound Howard explained that he has always known about Oklahoma simply because of how productive OU receivers have been in Riley’s system. But coming out of Westlake High School in Thousand Oaks, CA, he wasn’t recruited by the Sooners — until Dennis Simmons joined the OU staff, that is.
Simmons had offered Howard a scholarship when Simmons worked for Mike Leach at Washington State during Howard’s junior year in 2014. When Simmons was hired by Riley in 2015, he stayed in contact with Howard and even extended a scholarship offer.
“You always see Oklahoma and what they do with their guys,” Howard said. “I kind of always had it in the back of my head.”
Howard played in 34 games over four seasons as a Bruin and made 22 starts in 2017 and 2018. As a sophomore in 2017, Howard caught 56 passes for 594 yards and scored four touchdowns. As a junior, he caught 51 passes for 677 yards with four TDs.
But Howard sustained the injured wrist in the 2019 preseason, and he ended up playing only one game — the Bruins’ 48-14 loss to Oklahoma. He took a medical redshirt last year, then decided to spend his final season elsewhere. He entered the transfer portal and wound up reconnecting with Simmons.
With junior Charleston Rambo the Sooners’ most experienced receiver, and the rest of the corps being either injured, young or new, Simmons and Riley welcomed Howard to Norman.
“The season will tell how big of an impact he can have,” Simmons said last month, “but a lot of the things that he does bring to us is, another guy with actual college game experience, an older guy, so he’s gonna have some wisdom that he can spread to some of the younger guys.
“And then he’s just a talented young man that, once again with the current situation that is in college athletics, that gives you another talented young man in your room where you have plenty of tools in the shed to be able to work with.”
But hey, it’s 2020. There will be no well-laid plans without significant setbacks and obstacles to overcome. For Howard, it was a torn Achilles’ tendon.
Theo Howard
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
“It was definitely different,” Howard said. “I had basically just gotten to Oklahoma and two weeks into it, obviously, I tore my Achilles and had surgery right after. But going into spring ball not knowing what was going to happen next with COVID, I think most of my concerns were just being about how was I going to attack rehab and stuff like that since I was over back home and if I was going to get back on time.
“But just overall throughout that process, I attacked rehab every single day and just really stayed patient and tried to focus on what I can control and eventually, I came back. Most people aren’t really able to come back from an Achilles’ injuries, and 5-6 months later, I did. So I’m very thankful for that.”
Riley called Howard’s speedy return “pretty remarkable. I mean, to be able to come off the injuries he’s coming off of as fast as he has, our people were excited the whole way, and Theo obviously did a great job. His doctor did a great job. He’s really worked his tail off, but (it’s) pretty remarkable to see how far he’s come in such a short time off that injury.”
The transition has been almost seamless, he said. Going from Chip Kelly’s offense to Lincoln Riley’s offense, Howard said, wasn’t as big an adjustment for him as going from Southern California weather to Oklahoma weather.
“It was really cold when I got here, and then obviously you get that change going from springtime to summer and it just gets really hot and humid,” he said with a laugh. “So I think that would be the biggest thing for me.”
While Howard’s natural growth as a football player has been stunted by injuries and the pandemic, he has continued to work on his craft. That has stood out to Riley and Simmons.
“I’ve always tried to focus on fixing one aspect or area of my game,” Howard said. “Coming to OU, obviously, I was hurt and I got back and there were still, like, little things in my game that I always felt like I needed to fix. Little things like physicality and stuff like that. Having a coach like coach Simmons and coach Riley, they’re always pushing me to make sure I’m trying to get better every day and be great.”
Howard said all the recent travails have given him reason to pause and appreciate his lot in life. If he’s good to go for this Saturday’s Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas State, Howard will be grateful — just like he was against Missouri State.
“I mean, when I got out there, I was just taking in every moment I could,” he said. “Especially when I got back in fall camp. I was really just taking in every moment, every rep. Because you never know when this game could get taken away from you.
“Especially me, obviously coming back, but I never know if God has something else in store for me, another injury or something like that. But I really try to focus on what’s up ahead and really just cherish every moment.”
And he’s especially thankful since his old UCLA teammates and their Pac-12 Conference brethren are not — at the moment — playing college football in 2020.
“I’m very fortunate,” Howard said. “ … I keep in contact with them all the time. They’re obviously very frustrated. They’re just kind of on standby right now. Like, obviously, there’s be rumblings about them perhaps potentially playing later on in November. But I think they’re all just staying ready and trying to stay prepared for whatever happens next.”
For Howard, it all feels almost too good to be true.
“I’m enjoying my role on this team,” he said. “I’m happy to be with all the guys. Everybody’s been cool to me.”
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