Selected in the seventh and final round of this year’s draft, former Brown DT David Howard will attempt to take the leap from the Ivy League to the NFL.
Listed by at least one major publication as a sleeper prior to draft weekend, Brown’s intriguing athleticism demonstrated during his pro day served as the impetus for the Tennessee Titans to take a flyer on the former Ivy Leaguer in the draft’s final round.
Similar to last week’s exercise regarding fellow 7th rounder Marc Mariani, let’s take a look at David Howard’s chances of sticking around in 2010.
The plight of Howard from Ivy Leaguer to NFL hopeful is an interesting one to say the least. Originally deciding to attend Brown University to compete in track and field as a shot-putter, Howard made the decision to eschew his talents in that area to focus on the gridiron after his freshman year.
Of course, the rest is history, with Howard developing into a player with a potential NFL career looming on the horizon. On draft day, Howard received calls from other teams such as the Ravens and the Cowboys but at the end of the day (and the draft) it was the Titans who emerged as the NFL destination for David Howard.
Howard’s chances of making the Titans’ roster certainly weren’t damaged due to the team’s decision to ship DT Kevin Vickerson out of town. Despite being behind the likes of Tony Brown, Jason Jones, Jovan Haye and Sen’Derrick Marks on the depth chart at DT, Howard could emerge as the team’s 5th DT if they decide to keep that many around.
Who knows, if Haye continues to disappoint, maybe Brown could surpass him as the team’s 4th DT.
Helping Howard’s cause is the no-nonsense, no-holds-barred tutelage he’ll receive from Titans’ defensive line guru/coach Jim Washburn. If anyone can turn a seventh-round project into a NFL contributor at one of the D-line positions, “Wash” can.
Like Marc Mariani, I’ll also be keeping my eyes glued to the progress of Howard, the Titans’ other seventh-round selection in last month’s draft. At the very least, I’m somewhat optimistic that he’ll find his way onto the team’s practice-squad in 2010.
Any thoughts on Howard’s chances of sticking around in a Titans’ uniform? Feel free to contribute your thoughts in the comments section below.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
