Howell accepting of lesser role
Senior RB sees fewer carries as Singletary’s backup.
BOCA RATON — On the night Florida Atlantic running back Buddy Howell was honored with the rest of his senior teammates, coach Lane Kiffin didn’t make the fan favorite scoring one final home touchdown a priority.
Once the opportunity presented itself in the final quarter of Saturday’s 52-24 win over FIU, Kiffin was willing to let things play out.
“I do like (players getting those moments) at the end, sometimes, especially with (Howell) because he’s part of the story of this team,” Kiffin said.
Howell’s fourth-quarter score from three yards out, the senior’s fifth of the season, was a fitting regular-season send-off to the Boca Raton crowd. Howell’s first career game was a home win over Western Kentucky in 2014, a game he ran for 118 yards and a touchdown.
Years after running over the Hilltoppers, Howell is enjoying his first college season in winning style following three straight 3-9 seasons. Scoring what was potentially his final home touchdown helped make Saturday’s win sweeter, but not by much.
“I don’t really set myself up for (moments like that) — I just go with the game plan,” said Howell, who enters the Owls’ (8-3, 7-0 in C-USA) regular-season finale against Charlotte averaging a careerhigh 6.8 yards per carry. “If you think about all the carries, all the stuff you can’t control, it’s going to (limit) your performance.”
As recently as last November, Howell seemed on the path to finish behind only Alfred Morris in nearly every major FAU rushing record. After a Nov. 5 win at Rice last season, Howell sat at 1,563 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns but saw the ball only 28 times in his final three games, passing the torch to then-freshman and friend Devin Singletary.
Since becoming FAU’s lead back last November, Singletary has become the program leader in rushing touchdowns with 36 and leads the nation with 24 this season. Howell is two touchdowns shy of passing Charles Pierre for third-most in program history and five away from tying Morris’ 27.
“We’ve become such a tight unit that we love each other so much,” Howell said. “Whatever role you’re given, you accept that role and the coaches are upfront with us.”
Seeing more time on special teams, Howell had four carries through his first two games this season and has only had double-digit carries four times in 10 games. After a career-high 175 yards against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 16, Howell missed the Owls’ Sept. 23 loss to Buffalo with an undisclosed injury.
Since carrying the ball 13 times for 70 yards and a touchdown against North Texas, Howell has only rushed 23 times in the past four games. Howell and FAU host the Mean Green in the C-USA title game Dec 2.
“I’ve seen a lot of people over time get into a hole that ain’t a good place,” Howell said of his reserve role. “You start thinking the worst things possible and you’re gonna be trying to escape. But when you embrace your role, you love your brothers — the ones you play with — you don’t think about that.”
After the title game, FAU players will vote on their captains for a to-be-determined bowl game. Despite Howell no longer starting, Kiffin believes the senior will be elected a captain by his teammates.
“Never says a word about it, never complains, practices as hard as you can every day,” Kiffin said of Howell. “To me, that’s kind of what the theme of what we hoped this team would become ... very unselfish.”