Super 11: Jackson LB Grayson Howard brings new number, new message for 2022: Fear the Zero

The tackles. The sacks. Even the Twitter handle.

For Grayson Howard, those all pointed to one message to opponents: Fear the number 10.

So what changes in 2022 now that one digit is dropping off the star linebacker's red and black Jackson High School uniform? Not much.

"[Number] 10 is me, 10 is my identity," he said. "But when Coach [Christopher] Foy got No. 0 in the program, I wanted to be the first to be able to wear it, be a part of history."

Among the most-recruited linebackers in the Southeast, the former No. 10, now roaming the defense as proud owner of the inaugural No. 0 jersey, represents Jackson on the annual Super 11.

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He's the first Super 11 selection from the Tigers since cornerback Derek Owens in 2009. For Howard — his Twitter handle, @Decaphobia, literally means "fear of 10" — the numbers game is looking like a winner.

Zero: That's pretty close to the chance of escape for ball carriers who run into Howard in the open field.

Even as a freshman, he recorded 51 tackles and seven sacks for the Tigers. Shifting into a more conventional linebacker role, he's shown the speed and sure tackling to range all across the field, with 118 tackles as a sophomore and 157 — 14 for loss — last fall. He's ranked as a four-star recruit and a top-15 prospect at the position nationwide.

And going by the numbers, Howard's work is paying off for a once-downtrodden Tigers program that had suffered nine straight losing seasons before his arrival in the summer of 2019.

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That picture has turned around fast under the leadership of third-year head coach Foy, who led the Tigers last season to a 7-4 mark, a playoff trip and the school's best year since 2009.

"He's absolutely great," Howard said. "He's a guy that develops people. He developed me, he developed the rest of the guys. He brought weights into our program and he's taught us discipline, just growing mentally and physically."

Howard, who cited Ray Lewis and Luke Kuechly as key influences on his game, views his task as far from finished. He's also working to help his teammates continue the Tigers' transformation in 2022.

"I'm blessed to be able to leave my legacy on Jackson," he said. "I want to make sure all my teammates get to be a part of that, too. We want to have a thick signing day table and just keep doing what we've been doing."

The next step is only months away. In June, Howard committed to South Carolina, selecting the Gamecocks ahead of more than 30 other offers. Howard said he's planning to enroll early, getting advance preparation in the system under Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer. The team has already drawn five commits from Florida in the 2023 class, including Bolles tight end Connor Cox and Columbia linebacker Jaden Robinson.

"I definitely think it's the culture that Coach Beamer's bringing," Howard said. "He's brought a two-win team to a seven-win team with the same players, and he has a staff that is unbelievable."

Howard said he was especially impressed by the atmosphere in Columbia, surrounded by passionate Gamecocks support.

"You can see that they support the university, from when women's basketball won the national championship," Howard said. "The fans were going crazy. I think that they deserve a national championship of football, and that's what I'm going to bring to the table."

So watch out for 10, or 0, or whatever number Howard is wearing. In his final season on Main Street, Howard means business.

"Jackson's been so great to me," Howard said, "and I just want to give them the state championship that the team needs, that the community needs, that Coach Foy needs and deserves."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Times-Union Super 11: Grayson Howard, Jackson linebacker