Howard planning MSU, OSU visits

Dayton (Ohio) Chaminade-Julienne class of 2013 linebacker Darrien Howard already lists an offer from Cincinnati, and has several more BCS programs showing him attention. He plans to reciprocate that interest with at least two of those programs this fall.

"Sept. 10 I am going up to Michigan State," Howard said. "I am getting a real good vibe from them. They have been recruiting me since February or January. I haven't really been able to talk to them much about [an offer], but I guess I will find out when I go up there next Saturday.

"I'm going to a couple Ohio State games too. Basically they have told me to stay healthy, get my weight down and work on getting faster and stronger."

Howard also expects to see a game or two at Cincinnati this fall. Another school that is showing considerable interest is Nebraska.

"They actually just started recruiting me," Howard said of Nebraska. "The linebackers coach there came up to one of our weight lifting sessions during spring break. They said they really liked me, so they are trying to keep up with me.

"There are other schools looking, but those are the main schools I feel want me the most right now."

Howard strongly prefers to play linebacker at the college level and has trimmed some weight to ensure he will have a chance at that position in college. He now lists his size at 6-2 and 240 pounds, and came out with a strong performance to open his junior season, notching 16 tackles, two fumble recoveries and an interceptions.