Howard to lead Jayhawks offense
There came a point last year when Jeannette’s senior do-it-all quarterback, Robert Kennedy, approached coach Roy Hall about backup Seth Howard.
Howard, a junior with a rocket arm, had joined the Jayhawks’ historic season three games in — dual-threat Kennedy could play pretty muchanywhere with success.
“’We may do some better things with Seth at quarterback and me playing other positions,’” coach Roy Hall remembers Kennedy saying. “And [Kennedy] was right. … We did a lot of that during the playoffs. There were times they probably played equal time.”
With Howard (5-11, 150) and Kennedy taking turns at quarterback, both able to line up as a receiver or run the ball as well, the Jayhawks were unstoppable, finishing the season as WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A champions.
This year, though, it’ll be Howard, now a senior, in the spotlight by himself as Jeannette aims for WPIAL and PIAA gold yet again.
“There’s only one Robert Kennedy. … Robert might be a little bit of a better scrambler, but I believe Seth is a better pure passer,” Hall said.
“If you don’t have a Robert Kennedy, I wouldn’t want anyone but a Seth Howard to step in. I have all the confidence in the world in him and I expect him to take the offense and lead us on, which he’s doing a great job of, because he’s a great athlete.”
The pocket-passer inherits an offense with seven returning starters and a handful of skilled receivers, including senior Marcus Barnes.
“I hope to pass for more yards than I did last year, obviously, but I just want to help the team win and get another championship and a state championship as well,” Howard said. “Those are my big goals that I want.”
Howard might be best known as Jeannette’s starting quarterback, but Hall will tell you how Howard does it all. In addition to playing under center, Howard plays safety and cornerback.
Last year, he caught five passes for 158 yards, rushing for another 383 yards, and accounted for 11 touchdowns. Is that all? “And he’s our punter, also,” Hall added.
But the nature of the quarterback job has changed, since it’s not shared anymore. It’s just Howard, operating under admittedly more pressure this time around than when he rotated with Kennedy, who threw for 1,462 yards and 25 touchdowns, rushed for 1,356 yards and caught eight passes for 192 yards.
“I have to make sure I do my job right and do good each game,” Howard said.