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Syracuse football recruiting: RB Jarveon Howard commits to Orange

The Mississippi product is the third running back commit, and will sign next Thursday.

By John Cassillo
NCAA Football: Central Michigan at Syracuse Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

howaThe Syracuse Orange football program has been busy making additions to the backfield these past couple weeks. After adding former four-star Oklahoma Sooners transfer running back Abdul Adams last Monday, another ball-carrier has committed to join the team as part of the class of 2018.

Syracuse.com’s Stephen Bailey reported that three-star running back Jarveon Howard will commit to SU and sign next Thursday, according to the note above. Howard is from Columbia, Miss. and holds offers from Tennessee, Memphis, Mississippi State, Southern Miss and Tulane among others. Special teams coordinator Justin Lustig secured the commitment during Howard’s visit this past weekend (Syracuse first offered him on January 25).

Howard currently measures 5-foot-10 and weighs 202 pounds, according to 247Sports. He’s in a similar mold to current commit Akeem Dixon, who verballed for Syracuse back in May, but did not sign in December.

Assuming Howard is a definite signing next week, and knowing that Adams is enrolled already, the running back position currently looks like this for 2018:

  • Freshman: Jarveon Howard
  • Sophomore: Markenzy Pierre, Allen Stritzinger, Abdul Adams (redshirt)
  • Junior: Moe Neal
  • Senior: Dontae Strickland

So theoretically, Syracuse could add both Dixon and Jawhar Jordan too this cycle to solidify the future of the running back position. But at the same time, SU already has four players with at least two years of eligibility remaining for 2019 and beyond.

Also worth weighing here is what role each player fills. Pierre is the best option for a power back. But still, these guys (including Dixon and Jordan) are more geared toward speed and finesse. Without a power rusher, the onus could fall to the offensive line once again, along with Chris Elmore at fullback.

We’ll be previewing National Signing Day this week, and looking ahead at what’s to come for the Orange next week. There are still a few scholarships available for 2018, and Dino Babers is likely to put them all to use through a combination of transfers and a few late additions via high school recruits. Four-star running back Mychale Sulahuddin is also still considering the Orange, however, he’s also a smaller/faster back.

Some highlights for Howard are below. Congrats and (hopefully) welcome aboard next week, Jarveon!

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