UM commit Howard opts for the Owls

The recruiting effects of winning and winning big at Florida Atlantic’s rival down south are being felt within a week of FAU’s 49-14 win over FIU on Saturday night.

The Owls picked up a commitment to their 2019 recruiting class on Wednesday night from longtime Miami Hurricanes commit Diamante Howard, a three-star defensive back out of Miami Southridge.

“This is one of the Days that is enjoyable for my family but mostly for me,” Howard wrote in a Twitter note accompanied by pictures of him in an FAU uniform and what his locker in the team’s new locker room would look like. “I am truly blessed and happy for being here and to be the person i am today. God you are the real MVP for making everything Possible.

“I’m truly blessed to say I am committing to Florida Atlantic University #Goowls.”

Howard, a 6-foot-2, 178-pound defender who can also grow into a linebacker — and was considered one earlier in his recruitment — was committed to UM for a year and a half before decommitting this past March. He first committed to the Hurricanes as a sophomore in March 2016.

At various points in his recruitment, Howard picked up other offers from the likes of Florida and Georgia. More recent offers came from Marshall and FIU, and he took an official visit to Akron early in the season.

While adding Howard to the class, it comes shortly after losing out on Deerfield Beach cornerback Marcus Lafrance, who decommitted from the Owls on Oct. 21, going back on his July pledge.

FAU currently has seven commitments in its 2019 class. Dwyer quarterback Gio Richardson, running back James Meeks and DB Antavious Lane and Palm Beach Lakes cornerback Eldridge Franklin are among them.