Two-time Mr. Football Erick Howard is playing for a military academy but would like to transfer to another school, possibly Ohio State.
View full sizeErick Howard Q: Hey, Tim: I saw in your column this week you mentioned Erick Howard as Mr. Football. Where is he now?
-- Dave DeNoma, Westlake
A: Hey, Dave: Howard is marching to a different drummer these days.
After winning back-to-back Mr. Football awards at North Canton Hoover in 2008 and 2009, he signed a national letter of intent in February with the University of Akron.
Howard had academic eligibility issues and never made it to Akron. He was going to resolve those issues while at Akron and begin playing in 2011, but instead enrolled this summer at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, where he also is playing football for FUMA's post-graduate prep team. He had 14 carries for 71 yards in a recent win against Louisburg College. Presumably, if Howard gets his grades in order, he will try to play college football.
Howard was a 5-10, 210-pound wrecking ball at Hoover. He ran for 6,013 yards in his four years and scored a Stark County record 79 touchdowns, according to the Canton Repository.
He is not obligated to attend Akron and he could play college ball just about anywhere. Where will he wind up? Akron remains a possibility, as does Cincinnati.
Howard recently told Buckeye Sports Bulletin he would like to play for Ohio State, and his goal is to play in the NFL. OSU has a history of taking players from Fork Union. Ohio State coach Jim Tressel expressed interest in Howard early in his Hoover career, but Howard didn't qualify academically and never received an offer from the Buckeyes. OSU currently is stacked with good, young running backs.
Stay tuned. Most of it is up to Howard and whether he gets his act together.
-- Tim