Desmond Howard - ESPN photo

Desmond Howard striking his famous Heisman pose while at Michigan was used as the EA Sports cover athlete for their then latest installment in the NCAA Football video game series, NCAA Football 06 - EA Sports graphic

Sports Notes SUPER MAX - DESMOND HOWARD to COLLEGE HALL of FAME

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

The flash and dash man made it to College Football Hall of Fame. He was as small and quick as a mouse and played the game BIG - WHO IS the NBA's TIM FRANK?

Monday, July 25, 2011

ANOTHER HONOR FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE

As the Western region field producer for an NCAA sports radio program the question came up IN OUR MINDS how many University of Michigan players had we interviewed over the years. The first to come to mind was the NBA's Glen Rice, Chris Webber, Loy Vaught, Jaylen Rose, Juwan Howard who were all members of the of their basketball teams. They all went on to have solid NBA careers. We also covered their football program with radio features on Tyrone Wheatly, Bryan Griese, their then coach Bo Schembechler among others.

One athlete that we forgot about was Desmond Howard who won the Heisman Trophy as being the best collegiate player of the year. He came to our attention when last month he was named to College Football's Hall of Fame. His incredible college career was capped off by winning college football's highest award the Heisman Trophy in 1991. Howard captured 85% of the first place votes in balloting for the Heisman, the largest margin in the history of the trophy at that time.

On May 6, 2005, EA Sports announced that Howard would be the cover athlete for their then latest installment in the NCAA Football video game series, NCAA Football 06. The announcement was a departure for the series, which had traditionally featured college athletes who went to the NFL the previous year on its covers. He was chosen to highlight the then new feature "Race for the Heisman," and his cover picture showed him striking his famous Heisman pose while at Michigan. He struck this pose after a punt return for a touchdown during the 1991 Michigan-Ohio State game.

Howard is small like a mouse and just as quick. He excelled at returning kickoffs and punt returns for touchdowns. His lack of size helped as the football fields are slopped down in part for water drainage therefore from a distance he appeared smaller. As a flash and dash player Howard could hide behind huge lineman some as tall as 6'7"and big being over 300 pounds.

Howard went on to play in the NFL but his pro career was not as spectacular as it was in college. He was a decent to good pro player but not as dominant as he was in college. He played in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins (1992-1994), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995), Green Bay Packers (1996, 1999), Oakland Raiders (1997-1998) and Detroit Lions (1999-2002).

Howard was voted the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXXI and is the only special teams player to win the award. He is one of only four players to win both the Heisman Trophy and Super Bowl MVP; Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett, and Marcus Allen are the others. Howard was the First player in NFL History to be named Super Bowl MVP based on special teams play. Howard was ranked the 9th Greatest Return Specialist in NFL History by NFL Network's NFL Top 10 Return Aces.

His most notable professional season was in 1996 when he was playing for the Green Bay Packers. He led the NFL in punt returns (58), punt return yards (875), punt return average (15.1), and punt return touchdowns (3), while also gaining 460 kickoff return yards and catching 13 passes for 95 yards. His 875 punt return yards were an NFL record, easily surpassing the old record of 692 yards set by Fulton Walker in 1985. During the 1996 NFL postseason, Howard contributed a punt return for a touchdown in a game between the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. The Packers reached Super Bowl XXXI against the New England Patriots.

The Packers led 27-14 at halftime, but Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe led his team on a short drive that ended with Curtis Martin's 18-yard touchdown run to pull the Patriots within six late in the third quarter. With new life, the Patriots boomed the ensuing kickoff to the one-yard line, but Howard effectively shattered the Patriots' hopes for a comeback with a 99-yard kickoff return for a Packers touchdown. His return and the Packers' subsequent two-point conversion closed out the scoring of the game, and the Packers eventually won 35-21.

Bill Parcells, the Patriots' head coach, commented after the game: "We had a lot of momentum, and our defense was playing better. But [Howard] made the big play. That return was the game right there. He's been great all year, and he was great again today."

Howard totaled a Super Bowl record 90 punt return yards and 154 kickoff return yards with one touchdown; his 244 all-purpose yards also tied a Super Bowl record. His performance won him the Super Bowl MVP award, making Howard the only player to ever win the award based solely on a special teams performance. Howard is currently a television analyst covering college games for ESPN.

What we recall most about our interview with Howard was his sharp mind, vibrant personality and a flashy smile.... oh we forgot... his nose was running. His knowledge of the game and persona fit his ESPN job perfectly. All of this adds up to Desmond Howard can now add the College Football Hall of Fame honor to his trophy showcase it's an honor that's well deserved.

ADD UNIVERSITY of MICHIGAN'S HISTORY - The NBA's TIM FRANK.

What triggered our interest in the subject of University of Michigan's sports stars that we covered in the past was when the NBA's head of media relations Bryan McIntyre retired to become the consultant to NBA commissioner David Stern. McIntyre was replaced by Tim Frank who served as a Sports Information Assistant at the University of Michigan. In Ann Arbor he assisted the Sports Information Director with Wolverine football and basketball and was the primary media contact for Michigan wrestling, gymnastics, and tennis. Frank's Michigan SID career started after those Michigan stars that that we previously mentioned as he was a 1993 graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

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