Name: Jarveon Howard
Position: Running Back
Year: Sophomore
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 213
Hometown: Columbia, Miss.
High School: East Marion
2018 stats: We first saw Howard in action in week two, when he ran for 69 (nice) yards on 13 carries vs. Wagner. The then-frosh had 55 the next week vs. Florida State, and 60 against UConn — but we didn’t really see much of him again until garbage time against Louisville later in the season. Howard finished the season with 315 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, however. Would’ve been eight if not for that goal line fumble vs. the Huskies, too...
2019 projections: He’ll still have two backs in front of him, with Moe Neal and Abdul Adams getting the majority of the carries. However, he’s proven to be a powerful runner and that could pay dividends near the goal line once again. Expect to see a little more of Howard than we did last year.
How’d he get here?: Decided to pass on SEC offers from the likes of Tennessee and Mississippi State, plus Memphis and Southern Miss, too. The Syracuse Orange came calling, and that’s all he needed to know.
What’d recruiting sites say?: Three stars from everyone.
Money quote: Dino Babers described how impressed he was with Howard in some early action against FSU:
“We thought he had the makings that he could do something. We wanted to put him in a controlled situation, but those were live bullets out there. Those were five-stars and four-stars shooting at him. So to see him take that ball, break a tackle at the line of scrimmage and be able to take it 45, 46 yards on his run was really a sight to see.”
Twitter feed: @jarveon_howard
Tweets of wonder: This seemed better than the dumb tweet I had about giving him 44 (though hey, maybe one day...).
Not to be denied @jarveon_howard pic.twitter.com/T371xsXS6Z
— Syracuse Football (@CuseFootball) October 27, 2018
What movie would Dino recommend for him?: Marvel was no stranger to the big screen before the recent run of success, having a mix of hits and duds dating back to the 1980s. One of those was Howard the Duck, which was bad but some people enjoy it because of that fact now.
Interesting nugget o’interest: He shares a hometown with none other than the late, great Walter Payton. Not bad company to keep at all.
Let’s get a look at ya: When you go 10-3, even your third-string running back gets a conference highlight reel.