It’s been 30 years since Michigan’s Desmond Howard had the iconic punt return against Ohio State that won him the Heisman Trophy.
Howard took the ball from the seven-yard line after Ohio State punted it and took it 93 yards to the house with the iconic call from Keith Jackson saying, “Hello Heisman.” Michigan ended up winning the game 31-3 but lost in the Rose Bowl to Washington, 34-14.
We spoke to the 1991 Heisman winner about the latest Jim Harbaugh rumors, who has the edge in the National Championship on Monday night, NIL Deals, and where that could be going, plus his partnership with Modelo.
The Spun: Obviously it wasn’t the ending you were hoping for with your Wolverines, but what do you make of these Harbaugh rumors? Do you think there’s a real chance he could leave after the Wolverines just had their best season in quite some time?
Desmond Howard: “You can set your clock to it. We get these rumors every time this time of year so I don’t make anything of it. Whether he has a great season or a bad season there are always NFL rumors with Jim Harbaugh.”
The Spun: If Harbaugh decides to stay, what do you think the program needs to win a national title? Do you think there’s a missing piece there?
Howard: “I think Harbaugh stays and they just keep recruiting the way they’ve been recruiting. I think that this was the first year that the new coaching staff that he brought in and they’ve had an incredible amount of success. We’re talking about a team that was picked to finish fourth in their division. Not the Big Ten conference, like fourth in their division, and they ended up finishing the season as the number two team in the country going into the College Football Playoff.
At that point, I thought they were ahead of schedule. I thought against Georgia they were playing with house money and now, that gives you an opportunity as a team and as a staff to see what that next level of opponent looks like and what you have to do to compete against that type of opponent. Oftentimes, before teams win a National Championship, the year before, they may get to that playoff or they may win a conference championship. But they understand now what it takes to get to the next level because they’ve seen it and faced it up close.”
The Spun: I’ll move a little bit towards the National Championship. It’s sure to have a lot of theatrics just because of how these two teams played just a few weeks ago. Who do you think has the edge going in and do you think Alabama is going to go back-to-back?
Howard: “Well I’m not sure if Bama is going to go back-to-back, but I do believe they have the edge. It’s beyond the SEC Championship. But that still has its place in the equation so to speak. But, if you look at the big picture, Kirby Smart has never been able to beat Nick Saban. He’s 0-4 against him and in all four games, his team has had the lead. In three of the four games, his team had double-digit leads, including the SEC Championship Game when they jumped out 10-0.
But then, we saw the unimaginable. Alabama’s offense scored on five consecutive drives against a defense that we thought was one of the best defenses we’ve seen in college football for a long time. They were yielding less than eight points per contest. Alabama then came in there in the SEC Championship Game down 10-0 and then scored on five straight drives so, mentally, Alabama they know they can beat Georgia. Georgia, mentally, I don’t know if they hope they can beat Alabama, I don’t know if they wish they can beat Alabama. Alabama knows they can beat Georgia. I don’t know where Georgia is and I don’t care what they did against any other team because this is their kryptonite. So how do they feel now? Do they hope they can beat Alabama? Do they wish they can beat Alabama? That’s where I’m at with this game right now going into Monday night.”
The Spun: The use of NIL money has really gained steam this season, especially towards landing recruits. What do you make of that and do you think it will only continue to grow?
Howard: “Yeah, we’re learning as we go along right now. We’re all trying to figure out this whole thing out. It just got dumped on us with no rules, no regulations, no structure, and so right now we’re witnessing the wild wild west and that’s the best way I can put it.”
The Spun: With the coaching carousel going wild this season, which new coach will have more success with their new program: Lincoln Riley at USC or Brian Kelly at Notre Dame?
Howard: “Flip a coin. I think both guys will have success. You look at LSU, Les Miles won a National Championship there. I think the people will probably say that Kelly is a better coach than Miles. Coach O, even though he wasn’t a great fit there, he won a National Championship there. I think as far as just coaching is concerned, I think the people will say that Brian Kelly is probably a better coach than Coach O, so I think that Kelly should have a leveled success there.
You know, we had Lincoln Riley on College GameDay on New Year’s, and having him down there in Southern California, it just seemed right. It just seemed like a good fit. When he was on the set, he seemed really comfortable, like this was a place that resonates with him. So I can see him really having a nice career at USC. Being able to recruit that talent out there in California and the way he’s been able to develop quarterbacks too, it’s kind of hard to say who’s going to have the most success.
I think both guys will be extremely successful at both schools because I think they both can coach very well. Obviously, Brian doesn’t come across as comfortable down there as Lincoln Does in Southern California because of the whole accent thing, but once it gets down to the x’s and o’s, he’s going to coach his ass off down there. He’s going to win a lot of games too. He’s just going to have to deal with the SEC grind.”
(Photo by Chris Williams/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Spun: Why don’t you tell us what you’re doing with Modelo heading into the title game?
Howard: “So, to celebrate and commemorate the 30th anniversary of my touchdown punt return against Ohio State 30 years ago, they’re going to bring out this contest, which is a great, great contest. If there’s a punt return for a touchdown on Monday night, then 300 fans will receive free beer for the 2022 college football season. Now, to enter into this contest, all you gotta do is tweet @ModeloUSA and include #CFPFightingSpiritSweepstakes. Again, that’s #CFPFightingSpiritSweepstakes but not only that, also #21+ and you get a chance to win. Now listen, if there isn’t a punt return touchdown in the game all is not lost because Modelo is still going to give one lucky fan two tickets and a trip to Los Angeles for the National Championship Game next season.”
Howard played at Michigan from 1988-91 and was the first receiver in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring after he set or tied five NCAA records and 12 single-season Michigan records.
He’s been with ESPN since 2005 and has been a staple on College GameDay ever since.
Remember: Fans can Tweet @ModeloUSA using the #CFPFightingSpiritSweepstakes and #21+ to enter for a chance to win from Monday 1/3 to Gameday Monday 1/10 at Midnight ET.
The post Q&A with Desmond Howard: Jim Harbaugh Rumors, National Championship, NIL Deals, Partnership with Modelo appeared first on The Spun.