As I said previously, Howard was never a bad prospect, and honestly he was / is a hell of a lot better player than many Auburn has signed the past two and a half years. Injuries have really kept his recruitment dampened down a bit, but if he can stay healthy at the next level, I do think he really has the potential to be a sleeper. I could very well see him becoming a productive player at the next level.
At Alabama, though, Howard was just caught in a numbers crunch. He would have needed a big performance at our camp to have a shot at an offer, and I think he knew that he would never get it, which is why he just went to Auburn and committed this weekend. He's got to take care of himself, and honestly he cannot sit around and wait forever on something that is probably not going to happen. He did what he had to do, and personally I think he made a good decision. I think it was crystal clear that Howard would have jumped on an Alabama offer the second it came through, but again the chances of that happening were small.
Furthermore, I actually think Howard will end up playing tailback at Auburn. Keep in mind that when I said earlier that the Barn was recruiting him as a safety, that is what their fans were saying, all the while of course they were planning on getting at least two of Seastrunk, Lattimore, and Dyer. That's all sunshine pumping, of course, but objectively I figure they get at most one, with the likely scenario of whiffing on all three, and Howard ends up at tailback for them.
And, of course, in his commitment story, Mark Murphy claimed that Howard had an offer from Alabama... literally put it in the first sentence... :rolleye2:
