Jordan Howard: Indiana RB NFL Draft notes and takes

Former UAB Blazers running back Jordan Howard transferred to Indiana to take over for Tevin Coleman, and he’s propelled himself to a high NFL Draft ranking…

The Indiana Hoosiers are quickly earning a reputation for putting some talented players in the NFL rather than just the NBA. Their offense was stacked this year with guys who will likely at least make an NFL roster if not play significant roles for teams sooner rather than later, and it’s a former UAB Blazers transfer who is the subject of some of the most hype this team will have this offseason.

While Tevin Coleman was arguably the best running back in the entire Big Ten last season, transfer Jordan Howard came in — all 6-1, 225 pounds of him — and filled his shoes more than admirably.

Transferring from the UAB program that was cut (and later reinstated), Howard was immediately eligible and found himself quickly atop the Big Ten, earning all-conference honors this season after he rushed for 1,213 yards and nine touchdowns.

Howard’s ascent was huge for the NFL scouting world, which saw him dominate lesser competition as a member of UAB, where he ran for 1,587 yards and 13 touchdowns as a true sophomore in 2014.

One of the most impressive games I saw from Howard this past season was the work he did against the Michigan Wolverines, one of the best defensive units in the country. Michigan had two shutouts this season and was quickly putting together one of the most impressive resumes in the country before a heart-breaking loss to Michigan State sent them to two losses and virtually no shot at postseason glory.

Still, this is a Michigan defense that ranked 4th in the country in total defense and 11th in points allowed. Howard’s breakthrough in this game helped Indiana score 34 points in regulation and nearly beat the vaunted Wolverines defense to the tune of 238 yards and three total touchdowns.

With his size, some wonder if Howard will run with too high of a pad level but I don’t see that on film. He’s able to run as low as he needs to and can grind out tough yardage between the tackles as well as make people miss with speed on the perimeter.

We’re still in the preliminary stages of evaluating him, but his tape against Michigan is worth watching a couple of times over. It’s impressive to watch him grind against a defense that was one of the best in the country and the way that he was able to produce late in the game when Indiana absolutely had to have it.

This is a really underrated player who is currently checking in at 80th on the CBS Sports big board. If he has a big combine and/or pro day, he could be one of the top four or five drafted backs from this class. His name bears monitoring as we progress through the offseason.