When it comes to superstar players in college football, Desmond Howard likes who he likes.
A former wide receiver/return specialist at the University of Michigan, Howard won a host of individual awards in the 1991 season — including the Heisman Memorial Trophy.
He caught 63 passes for 1,025 receiving yards with 19 touchdowns, while turning in 412 kick return and 282 punt return yards with two scores. Howard was taken in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft by the Washington Football Team and spent 11 seasons (1992-02) in the league. He also played with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers (twice), Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders and Detroit Lions.
He was a Super Bowl champion with the Packers in 1996 and has spent his post-football career as a broadcaster for ESPN.
Howard is one of the analyst on ESPN’s College Football GameDay.
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As week one of college football starts on Saturday, Howard picked his top four seeds for the College Football Playoff, his national champion and his Heisman winner.
He has Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Cincinnati as his four best teams, while the Crimson Tide walks away with the title.
In terms of his Heisman winner, Howard chose junior wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Desmond Howard picked the #BEARCATS as his sleeper team to make the CFB Playoffs. ?? #DontSleepOnCincinnati pic.twitter.com/t6GaQNlE42
— Cincinnati ? (@CincyProblems) September 5, 2020
A native of Houston, Texas, Waddle is coming off a season where he had 1,227 all-purpose yards with eight scores.
Despite being used as a speciality player, he collected 560 yards receiving, 487 punt return yards, 175 kick return yards and five yards rushing. The former four-star is very explosive with the ball in his hands, and Steve Sarkisian (Alabama’s offensive coordinator) will use him as an ‘every down’ target this fall. The Tide wants to get Waddle the ball more naturally and since Howard’s moment in 1991, no other receiver has won the coveted bronze award.
The 5-foot-10, 182-pound human joystick now looks at a first-round draft stock and a shot at some individual honors.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
