CSNbbs

5'11" 205 RB just won his second Ohio Mr. Football award (Robert Smith is the only other 2 time winner). Howard says his final 4 schools are: Cincinnati, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Ohio State. Grades are supposedly an issue:

Quote:North Canton Hoover's Erick Howard repeats as Mr. Football winner

Associated Press, December 02, 2009 7:18 p.m.

Columbus, Ohio -- Every game, it seemed, an opponent would say something to Erick Howard about his 2008 Mr. Football award.

And they weren't congratulating the North Canton Hoover standout.

When he moves on to college next season, he'll hear that double.

Howard became the second Ohio high school star to twice win the Associated Press Mr. Football award tonight when he captured the state's top individual honor for high school players.

So, Erick, did opposing players notice the big award you won a year ago?

"Oh, yeah. All the time. Someone would have a pretty good hit on me and say, 'You're not Mr. Football today,'" he said. "They talked a lot of trash and that kind of motivates me even more to play that much harder."

Howard, a 5-11, 205-pound senior, once again had staggering regular-season stats: 299 carries for 1,957 yards and 26 touchdowns as a running back; 102 tackles, five tackles for a loss, three sacks, four fumbles caused and an interception as a middle linebacker.

Including a playoff game, he rushed for more than 2,000 yards for the second year in a row, pushing his career total to more than 6,000 yards to go with 79 touchdowns and 478 points -- all Stark County records.

Howard joins Euclid's Robert Smith (1988-89), who went on to fame at Ohio State and in the NFL, as the only two-time winner of the prestigious award. The winner is determined by a vote of a statewide media panel.

Howard's college choices have been narrowed to Cincinnati, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Ohio State...

Howard wins Mr. Football again

ScoutingOhio shows him with an offer from UC and has a ton of highlights from 2008.

Scouting Ohio

Looks like a strong candidate, I hope he commits to UC.

He's a good player and UC needs a RB in this class IMO but I've heard he is an extreme longshot to qualify.

(12-03-2009 08:32 AM)Marcus Wrote: [ -> ]He's a good player and UC needs a RB in this class IMO but I've heard he is an extreme longshot to qualify.

I put Howard in the same boat as Pead coming out of HS, academic wise. I agree with Marcus that he's borderline to get the grades, but if he does this would be a very good get for UC!

I dont know if his UC offer is still really on the table since they offered him early when they had a lot of open scholarships - if they had extra room I'm sure they would be pursuing him. (I believe Pead had some questions about his grades but UC took a chance and look what happened, so it would be nice if they could get him)

What type of runner is Howard? He seems like more of a between the tackles type of guy as opposed to a burner based on his stature but I haven't seen him play. He could certainly play a role in this offense ala Jacob Ramsey but he needs to have good hands as well.

(12-03-2009 12:09 PM)Racinejake Wrote: [ -> ]What type of runner is Howard? He seems like more of a between the tackles type of guy as opposed to a burner based on his stature but I haven't seen him play. He could certainly play a role in this offense ala Jacob Ramsey but he needs to have good hands as well.

Howard is more of a between the tackles kind of guy, but he can run outside as well. He's not a burner, but is EXTREMELY STRONG, particularly his legs. He often carried multiple tacklers hanging onto him while still running and almost always falls forward. The only times he was stopped in HS was when teams would sell out on the run and gang tackle him at the line of scrimmage and hit him before he got a head of steam. And yes, he has good hands - very good on the wheel route and screens.

With all that said, I'm still not sure how he'll project to a big time D-1 program - not overly fast and not that big, but he is very strong.

Saw some updates on an OSU board and thought I'd pass them along FWIW.

Howard signed an LOI with Akron but never attended and is opting for prep school at Fork Union instead. The OSU narrative is he did it at Tressel's urging with the expectation of getting qualified and receiving a 2011 OSU offer. Sounds like that offer has not and likely will not be coming. He might still end up at Akron in 2011 but UC is supposedly showing interest (along with other schools including UL,NC and Auburn).

I would take him still.

Yeah I'd take him since RB is such a huge need.