Jackie Howard (1979) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Jackie Howard

Induction:
1979

The 1954 Southern Miss media guide tells you right off the bat that Jackie Howard was the best defensive back to ever wear the Black and Gold and although the next 40 years there have certainly been players that have challenged for that title there is no doubt he certainly remains at or near the top of the class.
   Prior to coming to Southern from nearby Purvis, Mississippi, Howard was a star athletes at Purvis High School, where he won four letters as a single wing tailback.
   Then after earning his freshman numeral at Southern, Howard started to open some eyes, enough that by the start of the 1951 season he was a starter at defensive halfback.
   Despite the fact that he was just a freshman Howard moved smoothly into the starting lineup like he had played there forever. In fact he was a key figure in that team rolling to a 6-5 record that year and winning the Gulf States Conference Championship.
Howard was one of the steadiest players in the secondary that year finishing second on the team with four interceptions that he returned 43 yards.
   The Southern defense was good enough that year to record three shutouts, and pick off 16 passes, while limiting its opponents to just over 100 yards a game passing.
   Howard showed his versatility in 1951 by running the ball twice for 29 yards, returning a kickoff for 13 yards, and a punt for four yards.
   Howard continued to shine during the 1952 season in which Southern would roll to a 10-2 record and play the College of the Pacific in the Sun Bowl. Howard was becoming more of a two-way performer for Coach Pie Vann that year, but still was one of the defensive leaders. That year he tied for the team lead in interceptions with six that he returned for 78 yards, while the team recorded 21 interceptions. The Southern defense held its opponents to less than a 100 yards passing per game that year.
   Howard had eight rushes for 49 yards (6.1 average) in 1952, caught a pass for five yards, returned eight punts for 43 yards and punted 12 times for a 31.3 yard average. On special teams he led the team with two blocked punts.
   Howard who had already earned a reputation as a player that gave 100-percent and who plays from the heart showed it late that year when he played the last half of the Sun Bowl game with a broken collar bone.
   He was sidelined in 1953 with a leg injury and worked hard during the off season so he could return to the lineup.
   Returning for the 1954 campaign, Howard appeared to be as good as ever, returning to the defensive backfield and remaining a versatile player. The team posted a 6-4 record that year and Howard had an interception for 21 yards, carried the ball 22 times for 79 yards, caught a pass for 18 yards and returned two kickoffs for 47 yards.
   He was one of the first to specialize on defense and in doing so proved