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'10 OH RB Erick Howard (Ohio U Walk-On)

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Mr. Ohio Football will not play for Zips after all
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Apr 27, 2010

Senior tailback Erick Howard, a two-time Ohio Mr. Football selection from North Canton Hoover High School, will not be attending the University of Akron to continue his playing career.

''After a discussion with Erick and his family, it was mutually agreed upon that he is going to a prep school of his choice,'' said Rob Ianello, the Zips' first-year head coach on Tuesday.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Howard signed a national letter of intent to play for the Zips on Feb. 3 as part of a 23-player recruiting class.

However, that commitment was always in jeopardy because Howard still had to meet certain academic requirements to be eligible as a freshman.

Now, by reportedly attending Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, he can work on improving his grades and improving his chances to play for a BCS football program.

Ianello said the loss of Howard did not feel like a real loss.

''We didn't really have him, so I can't say we lost him,'' Ianello said. ''He did sign. A kid who is in your program, is here on campus, is working and doing stuff. When that kid leaves your program, you lost him.

''Erick never showed up here, never did anything with the team. We are excited about the kids we do have here.''
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Ohio.com - Mr. Ohio Football will not play for Zips after all
 
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Ohio State was the catalyst for North Canton Hoover running back Erick Howard's change of heart about attending Akron; Ohio's two-time Mr. Football decided to attend prep school at Fork Union Military Academy instead as a prelude to playing for the Buckeyes.

Howard was in Ohio State's plans all along, but he didn't qualify academically. That's apparently why he signed with Akron, although he told Adam Jardy of BuckeyeSports.com that coach Jim Tressel never stopped recruiting him.

"Tressel has been on me to come," he said. "I need to quit being lazy. I lost sight at first and didn't have things under control and I was like, 'What am I really going to do?' so I just tried to take the easy way out and commit to Akron and go play there. That's just making things harder on myself because I want to go to the NFL. My chances of going to the NFL from Akron are a little less than it would be if I go (to Ohio State)."

Scout.com rates Howard as a four-star prospect and the No.24 running back in the nation. He is the all-time leading rusher in Stark County with 6,013 yards and 79 touchdowns.
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Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings | BuckeyeXtra
 
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Zippercat said:
In the Comments to that Ohio.com article several Zip fans accuse JT of recruiting violations with Howard...claiming JT continued to pursue/contact Howard after he had signed his LOI to Akron. IF JT did that, would that have been a violation?
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Where in the comments section does this happen? I read the article and the comments and noticed nothing about Tressel or Ohio State from any of the people...
 
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Scout $ - Latest On Erick Howard

8/4

Interview by The Bank with North Canton Hoover Coach Hertler.....Erick will report to Fork Union on August 28th. Says that Erick may end up back at Akron, but is also receiving interest from Cincinnati, Louisville, North Carolina, Auburn & others.
 
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Former North Canton Hoover star Erick Howard has eye on Ohio State: Hey, Tim!
Published: Friday, September 24, 2010
Tim Warsinskey, The Plain Dealer

erick-howardjpg-fa2d9db887a73897_small.jpg

AP

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.
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http://www.cleveland.com/hssports/blog/index.ssf/2010/09/former_north_canton_hoover_sta.html
 
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