WVU's Howard ready to get back to work

MORGANTOWN — This is the final summer of Skyler Howard’s checkered collegiate career, one that has seen him first win over Dana Holgorsen and then West Virginia fans as the Mountaineers’ quarterback.

There had been a brief try at Stephen F. Austin back home in Texas after having dreamed of playing quarterback since he was 5 or 6 years old.

In fact, when he was in the eighth grade he recalls hearing about this quarterback from California in the seventh grade who had been offered by Lane Kiffin at USC, giving him inspiration to move forward.

Then a year ago, after having transferred from S.F. Austin when they tried him at running back to Riverside Community College in California and then to West Virginia, he found himself throwing passes to a converted quarterback named David Sills — the very quarterback whom had been offered all those years ago by USC.

Sills is now gone, having sort of followed the path Howard followed, transferring to El Camino College in California to get back to playing quarterback.

Stephen F. Austin shifting him to running back hurt Howard deeply, for his heart was devoted to playing quarterback, but he knew that wasn’t where he wanted to spend his time so he moved on to Riverside where he got a chance to hone those QB skills and land his place in Morgantown.

His start, of course, was not all-American, having to backup Clint Trickett, who was having a fine season, and even when he replaced Trickett after the concussions caught up with him, Howard had to win over Holgorsen and his teammates.

That is never an easy thing to do, but when he came back to school for his junior year he was the best alternative and Holgorsen saw that in the spring and made him his starting quarterback, convinced he could perform the miracles on Howard that he had on so many other QBs in the past.

And in Howard he had determined pupil, one put together one of the best year’s in WVU history in terms of throwing the ball last season while taking over as the offense’s leader, something that will be needed a good deal this season as they try to integrate some new talent in with a lot of the holdovers from last season’s eight-win team.

Leadership is a skill, not a label. Because you are the quarterback, doesn’t necessarily earn you the respect to be a leader but Howard works hard at it year round.

“I’ve been blessed to have the label as the starting the quarterback but I feel like being the leader is doing the right things at all times, no matter who is watching,” he said. “If you are the leader of the group, you have to be working toward the goal. You have to be all in. You have to do everything you can — on and off the field, mentally and physically — to work toward that goal.”

And Howard is all in, even in the summer. He took a while off to recover — he was badly banged up a year ago — and will take the Fourth of July holiday off and go to the beach and maybe head home briefly.

“I want to get back and go to work and get ready to go,” he said during Thursday interviews at the Puskar Center. “For me, I love it. I do better at work.”

Someone suggested that as much as he gets beat up, it might be best to go easily during the offseason.

“You preserve yourself too much and you will get beat up during the season,” he said. “Getting back to pumping 300 or 400 pounds will prepare me better for the season than being on my couch.”

And, as a leader, he feels he has to pass that along to the young kids coming in, who maybe don’t have the work ethic and can’t run through the proverbial wall of resistance.

“I’ve been talking to Marvin Sims about it, pushing through that grind,” he said. “If you think the hill outside is easy, try blowing past the Big 12 corner. I was talking to some guys this morning about Kevin White. You know, he carried that mentality that it’s easy. The mentality part carries over to it.

“I worked my butt off last summer. I’ve always been that type. I keep it in the back of my head and I’ll rest when it starts to hurt from fatigue because I’d rather hurt now than later.”

The question in Howard’s case becomes whether he’s a leader because he’s a quarterback or a quarterback because he’s a leader.

“I’ve been blessed to have the label as the starting quarterback, but I feel like being the leader is doing the right things at all times, no matter who is watching,” he said. “If you are the leader of the group, you have to be working toward the goal. You have to be all in. You have to do everything you can — on and off the field, mentally and physically — to work toward that goal.”

But more often than not you aren’t dealing in a team situation, but instead with individuals, trying to urge them onward and upward in their down times.

“It’s easy for me. I know what it takes. I’ve been there. If someone comes off and they’ve dropped a ball, they are going to beat themselves up 10 times more than if I go over there and yell at him,” Howard said.

“So, it’s my job to go over and pick him up. But sometimes I should be yelling at him. If he needs to focus up, then I want him to focus up.

“And it’s the same thing with me. I expect them to hold me accountable, too.”