Howard is headed to the MWC

He didn't get the same kind of early attention as some of his big name teammates, but things still worked out in the end for Oakland (Calif.) McClymonds two way lineman Antoine Howard. Howard received late offers from UNLV, Utah and San Jose State and made his decision this past weekend.

"Antoine committed to UNLV," Warrior coach Alonzo Carter said. "He took an official visit there with his dad this past weekend and just fell in love with the place. I'm happy for Antoine because things were kind of slow for him the year but he's a talented kid and I knew someone would give him a shot."

Carter has been telling us about his current senior class for three years now. When Howard was a sophomore along with national Hot 100 players like Derrick Hill and NaDerris Ward, Carter said Howard could be the best of the group. He was the MVP among the offensive linemen at Cal's camp two years ago and has everything a college is looking for except one pretty big thing.

"He never grew after his sophomore year," Carter said. "He has been about 6-4, 230 pounds now for the last three years. I naturally felt he would continue to get bigger but his weight stayed where it was at and that's why none of the bigger colleges came after him. He's a great player but schools weren't sure he would be big enough to play at that level.

"When Cal played BYU in the Vegas Bowl, I went to the game and dropped Antoine's tape off at UNLV. They watched it and decided to trip him in. Utah and San Jose State also offered him and wanted to trip him in but Antoine really liked it at UNLV and won't be taking any other visits. They're bringing him in as an offensive lineman and I think he'll do really well there."

Howard is now the 6th Warrior player to commit this year.