Scouting Report: ISU commit Ricky Howard

Yesterday, we took a close look Chaffey College (Rancho Cucamonga, Cal.) safety and future Cyclone Durrell Givens. Now, his teammate and another future Cyclone, tight end Ricky Howard takes center stage.

Howard stands at 6-foot-5 and 255-pounds. According to Rivals.com, this Chris Ash recruit was being looked at by the likes of Florida International, Boise State and Colorado. This past summer he committed to the Cyclones and with the upcoming departure of senior Derrick Catlett, Howard should be in the mix for some immediate playing time next season.

CycloneFanatic.com caught up with Howards Chaffey College head coach, Carl Beach to get his thoughts on this future Iowa Stater.

“I think that he is more of a blocker.,” Beach said. “He can block very well. In our system, we didn’t get him the football maybe as much as we should have. He is a good blocker in the run game. He was all-conference, first team. So he was recognized by the rest of the league as the best tight end around. I think that he is just scratching the surface. When he gets into an offense that utilizes the tight end more, it will definitely bring out some better things in him.”

Chris’ Take

Collin Franklin will likely have the nod come spring practice but Howard will certainly get a clean look, especially if he can catch passes like Coach Beach alluded to. At this position, there is plenty of playing time to go around in Ames. Don’t sleep on guys like Kurt Hammerschmidt either.