Howell is fifth on the team in tackles with 58, posting a career best stops against Boise State, then repeating it last week against Air Force. He has shown a knack for stuffing rush lanes with 2.5 tackles for loss, he’s forced a fumble and against San Jose State, he intercepted his first pass.
While he’s happy with his play, he’s also critical of his performance, which he feels is required to accomplish goals far beyond his initial season.
“I try to come out of every game without a missed tackle. Last game wasn’t good enough, because I had a few missed tackles,” Howell said. “Every game I try to improve myself, whether it’s tackles or coverages, no missed assignments. I’m always trying to get better.”
He’s positive he would have two interceptions if not for Floyd last week, who made a leaping, athletic play for a pick Howell had targeted.
“Most definitely. He did,” Howell said, laughing. “But I’m still proud of him though.”
And now it is Floyd, not Howell, who leads the Rams with two interceptions on the year. His first was big, coming on the road against a ranked Iowa team, and his return set the offense up for a touchdown. He also has 28 tackles and a quarterback hurry to his credit. The positive plays help him develop, but so do the negatives ones. It is the nature of the beast when you play on an island.
“At first, when I was getting beat, it was bringing me down a little,” Floyd said. “Talking to Coach Anthony Perkins and all the coaches, I don’t dwell on it as much. I know playing the corner position, I know I’m going to get beat. That’s’ what I signed up for.
“You can always get better. No one is perfect. You can always get better. No matter how good you think you are, you can always get better. When you’re not working, there’s somebody working and trying to beat you.”
So neither of them wants to get outworked, which is a character trait both share and the coaching staff loves. The staff doesn’t mind putting more on their plates, because they’re going to handle the tasks assigned. The piece of advice Howell’s father gave him was his freshman year was going to be a grind, and father definitely knew best.
It’s not just the coaches who have taken notice, it’s their older teammates. Francis is enamored with the way they carry themselves and approach their craft, well beyond their years.
“What impresses me about those two, they love it. They love the game,” he said. “With those two, you don’t have to talk about how much they love it, because you can see it every day, the way they approach everything. I’ve got some teammates who approach it certain way, but they approach it at another level. That’s crazy to say, given how young they are. They have something they bring to the table a lot of upperclassmen don’t bring.
“What really impresses me is how mature they are. For freshmen, there are a lot of mistakes that can be made, considering how lengthy the playbook is. With Robert and Jack, there aren’t many mistakes. They get it. It’s really impressive to see how they’ve handled their role this year, because I’m pretty sure they weren’t expecting their role to be as big as it was. They had some big shoes to fill, and they didn’t disappoint.”
Both of them talked about the volume of what their day-to-day is, and how that’s been an adjustment from high school. Not just the practice schedule, but lifting. They are watching more film – and have learned how to view it properly – than ever before. The season is longer, and the practices stack up.
This is the area where Addazio may be the most fascinated by his freshmen in the secondary.
“Some guys are having a hard time keeping pace with that right now,” Addazio said. “Not those two young guys though.
“We’re developing this program, and those young guys, Jack Howell as an example and Robert Floyd as an example, are two guys, they appear to handle that just fine. Some of these other guys, they don’t handle it so fine.”
That’s been just as much part of the learning process as anything Stewart or Francis has taught him about run fits and pass coverage, Howell said. To be at your best for practice every day requires preparation, just like for a game. So he’s learned to take advantage of what is available, and not everybody does.
At least not to the full extent.
“I think a big part of it is taking care of your body, always being in the training room,” Howell said. “I think our trainers have done a great job keeping us healthy. You just have to love ball, like coach says. When you love ball you’re always trying to go, always trying to keep on the field as long as you can. Really, that’s just the main thing.”
Remaining on the field produces a substantial drive for both of them now. That’s natural, considering the effort they put in to get to this point, neither one of them wants to take a step back. At the same time, both of them feel there is so much more they should be doing.
Now, they’re both being counted on, for the next game, the next season and years to come. Better for both of them, they have each other.
“It’s extremely fun. Jack and I, I look at him like a brother,” Floyd said. “Just to see him having fun out there, playing and doing what he’s doing, I’m happy for him and I’m excited just to do it with him.”
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