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#34 Darnell Howard |
Position: Tight End Previous College: None Projection: Scout Team Status: Preferred Walk-On |
Darnell Dupree Howard Jr. (b. Sept. 19, 1992) has a name that sounds quite a bit like Darren Howard. Of course, comparing him to a veritable Wildcat legend would be heaping unfair expectations upon his shoulders.
But I've got a good feeling about this one. For a lightly recruited walk-on, his is an encouraging background. He was invited to the 2009 U.S. Army Combine; fellow Cleveland native David Garrett vouched for him in this premium article.
But for a broken foot during the summer prior to his senior year, it seems likely that Howard would have received scholarship offers from Michigan State, North Carolina and Toledo, all of which were expressing interest at the time.
Alas, schools move on quickly in the recruiting world, so an injury that costs a fairly unknown player his senior season and the all-important summer camps that precede it can be a death knell for that player's scholarship chances.
Howard redshirted in 2011 after converting from defensive end to tight end, and then he temporarily departed from the team in the spring and summer. But he's back on the official roster now (although erroneously listed as a sophomore).