FAU RB Howell Jr. delivers big impact

BOCA RATON — It was the only blemish of the night for Florida Atlantic running back Gregory Howell Jr.

In the middle of the best performance of his career, Howell was caught from behind on a 60-yard run that left him five yards from the end zone. Two plays later, he crossed the goal line but still was upset about his motor stalling on the long run.

“I was glad the coach gave me the ball two more times so I can get in there,” Howell said. “That’s probably something that’s going to haunt me for a little bit.”

It was just a minor stain for Howell. He ran for a career-high 175 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries in the Owls’ 45-0 victory against Bethune-Cookman at FAU Stadium. He led an offense that ran for a school-record 439 yards.

“Just knowing what you’re capable of and just knowing that your [offensive line] is going to give their all for you,” Howell said. “That’s all I was waiting for. We just had to catch our rhythm. We saw greatness in the first two [games] and we saw a lot of stuff that we missed because of little details. So went back into the lab.”

For Howell, it was sort of redemption after being rarely used in the first two games. He carried just four times for 31 yards in opening losses to Navy and Wisconsin. He never got frustrated by the limited role. Instead, the focus was being the best special-teams player possible so he remained involved.

“You could get down on yourself or you can go out there and be grateful for every opportunity,” Howell said. “I just went out there and tried to be as dominant as I can. … You can’t be ungrateful playing this game because some people can’t play it.”

His early-season absence was due to the emergence of Devin Singletary, who has become the Owls’ primary ball-carrier. Although Howell has 1,885 career yards and is in contention to break the school’s all-time touchdown record, he is mostly considered the change-ofpace back.

First-year FAU coach Lane Kiffin thought Saturday was the perfect opportunity to unleash the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Howell.

“Just felt that it was going to be a good game for him,” Kiffin said. “I felt that we would have a lot of carries in the game. I thought we’d be run-heavy because of some matchup things and just really thought these guys would struggle with his bigger body.”

The Owls hope they can use Singletary and Howell similarly to when Kiffin had Reggie Bush and LenDale White when he was an assistant at USC in the mid-2000s. Bush’s speed hurt defenses early and then White’s size would wear down opponents late. The strategy helped the Trojans become one of the most prolific offenses in college football history.

“When you bring a big back in like that, that’s what happens,” Kiffin said.

The Owls also gave credit to the offensive line for the effort. The unit drew criticism from the coaching staff the past two weeks after subpar performances. Strong play up front is essential to their success because Kiffin wants to be a run-oriented team.

“Our personality is not going to be that we don’t run the ball no matter who we play,” Kiffin said. “It was good to see. It made the guys feel good.”