UAB leading rusher Jordan Howard signs with Indiana
UAB’s leading rusher has found a new home.
It was announced Thursday that Jordan Howard, who was 13th in the nation in rushing in 2014, has signed to play for Indiana.
In the final season of UAB football, Howard ran for 1,587 yards and 13 touchdowns and was named first team All-Conference USA. He’ll fill the role of record-setting back Tevin Coleman, who ran for a school-record 2,036 yards this season and recently declared for the NFL draft.
"As our season ended, we thought it was likely Tevin Coleman was headed to the NFL," Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson said in a release. "Jordan instantly became our top target. What happened at UAB is unfortunate for Jordan, his teammates and everyone involved with the program, but this is a perfect match for both sides.”
He 6-foot-1, 228-pound Howard will be a junior for the Hoosiers and is eligible to play immediately. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry for the Blazers while registering eight 100-yard games and five 150-yard games. In UAB’s season finale at Southern Miss, Howard racked up 262 yards, a career-high.
“We recruited him very, very hard and we are excited he is joining us,” Wilson said. “The sign of a good program is finding good players to replace good players, and we have done just that."
Jordan reportedly held offers from Vanderbilt, Iowa, Louisville, Kansas, Nevada, Marshall, Southern Miss., Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State. He told ESPN.com that he eventually narrowed down those options to Indiana and Vanderbilt before committing to the Hoosiers this week.
"There was something about Indiana I just liked," Howard told ESPN.com. "And it was big with them having a 2,000-yard running back the previous year and most of the offense coming back.”
I have decided to attend Indiana University pic.twitter.com/sevC9InsR2
— Jordan Howard (@JHoward_7) January 1, 2015
As a freshman in 2013, Howard, a native of Gardendale, Ala., rushed for 881 yards and two touchdowns. He also combined for 13 catches for 155 yards and two scores over the past two seasons.
For more Indiana news, visit Peegs.com.
For more UAB news, visit BlazerSportsReport.com.
- - - - - - -
Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
