Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Howse earns starting nod at safety by “doing the extras”
9/5/2024 7:38:00 AM | Football
The former Brentwood High standout and Vanderbilt transfer made the most of his first MTSU start with an interception on Saturday.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — John Howse IV was frustrated with himself.
It was the first drive of the game for Tennessee Tech and the Blue Raiders had forced the Golden Eagles into a third-and-13 from their side of the field. Attacking Cover 3, the free safety Howse had come down on a shallow route, allowing the deep dig to be completed over him for the first down.
"We'd been practicing it all week," Howse said postgame. "I saw it, the first time I messed it up."
Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart wasn't worried about his safety, making his first start for the Blue Raiders, and just the second of his career after transferring from Vanderbilt this summer. Particularly after he saw the former Brentwood High School standout's reaction.
"He took that personal, we talked to him about it," Stewart said. "The same drive later on, on third down, they ran the same play."
On fourth-and-eight, Tennessee Tech again ran that same route concept. This time, Howse stayed back, cutting off the pass to the dig and sprinting it 42 yards back into MTSU territory, setting up the Blue Raiders' second touchdown of the night and setting the tone for a dominant first half for the MTSU defense. For Howse, it was a reminder of why he left Vanderbilt to come to MTSU, for the chance to make impact plays like that one.
Captaining a TSSAA 6A-Championship Game finalist his senior year at Brentwood in 2020, Howse had plenty of suitors coming out of high school, with 247 Sports highlighting offers from Michigan, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Arkansas, among many other programs, on his profile page on their site to this day. But it was Derek Mason at Vanderbilt who drew Howse's attention.
Howse committed early to the Commodores his senior year at Brentwood, playing for Ron Crawford, and honored that commitment come National Signing Day, despite Vanderbilt moving on from Mason at the end of the 2020 season. Howse said that despite losing the coach he had formed a relationship with during the recruiting process, he still thought Vanderbilt was the right place at the right time for him.
Off the field, Howse excelled in the classroom, eventually graduating with a degree in Medicine, Health, and Society. On the field, Howse made the most of limited opportunities, eventually playing in 11 games with one start last season as a redshirt sophomore, recording 15 tackles and snaring an interception against Kentucky. But with a degree in hand and wanting to play more, he decided to transfer from Vanderbilt at the end of spring ball in 2024.
Quickly, MTSU was a place of mutual interest for Howse and the new staff in Murfreesboro led by the coach who recruited him in high school.
"He's a good player," Stewart said of why he was interested in Howse when the portal opened. "When you recognize a good player, you like to have him. The other reason is his character, his intensity, his integrity as a person."
Stewart said not only did Mason vouch for Howse as a person and a player, but so did many others with Vandy ties on MTSU's staff, most notably Josh Smith, who was an outside linebacker on the Commodore defense while Howse was just getting his feet wet as a college player.
The playing time Howse sought in greener pastures wouldn't come easy, however, with him joining a safety room filled with guys with strong recruiting profiles and plenty of college game tape as starters.
"Our safety group is really special because we're all great players," Howse said. "We all can make plays. We all have each other's back. (Winning the starting job) was very tough, it wasn't an easy thing to do."
What made Howse stand out in a room with a lot of competition? Stewart points to his work ethic off the field as something that showed up on the field in practice week-after-week, just like it did on Saturday night in Floyd Stadium.
"He does a great job communicating, doing the extras," Stewart said. "When I say doing the extras, that's coming in after practice, after you've looked at your film yourself, after you've graded yourself and then asking the coaches, 'Am I doing this right? Is this what we're looking for?'"
For his part, Howse also credits his adaptability that was honed at Vanderbilt, allowing him to learn the playbook quickly without the benefit of spring ball.
"Being at Vandy, I learned a lot as a player because I had so many coaching changes, so many different defenses to learn," Howse said. "I kind of learned (how) to learn defenses on the fly and just get acclimated quickly. I felt I was prepared to come in a short amount of time, be able to learn the playbook and make plays at an early stage."
Now that he's got the starting nod, Howse is looking forward to more Saturdays in Floyd Stadium, where his parents, Lindy and John, and siblings, Lincoln and Queen, can continue to watch him play on Saturdays in the mid-state, like they did when he was a Commodore. The difference being now, Howse said, he has the chance to be the player he knows he can be, thanks to the chance Derek Mason gave him once again.
"He's given me the opportunity to be the player I was in high school," Howse said. "He gave me a shot to come here and play. And that's all I asked for was just a chance. I needed someone to take a chance on me and he did that."
It was the first drive of the game for Tennessee Tech and the Blue Raiders had forced the Golden Eagles into a third-and-13 from their side of the field. Attacking Cover 3, the free safety Howse had come down on a shallow route, allowing the deep dig to be completed over him for the first down.
"We'd been practicing it all week," Howse said postgame. "I saw it, the first time I messed it up."
Defensive coordinator Brian Stewart wasn't worried about his safety, making his first start for the Blue Raiders, and just the second of his career after transferring from Vanderbilt this summer. Particularly after he saw the former Brentwood High School standout's reaction.
"He took that personal, we talked to him about it," Stewart said. "The same drive later on, on third down, they ran the same play."
On fourth-and-eight, Tennessee Tech again ran that same route concept. This time, Howse stayed back, cutting off the pass to the dig and sprinting it 42 yards back into MTSU territory, setting up the Blue Raiders' second touchdown of the night and setting the tone for a dominant first half for the MTSU defense. For Howse, it was a reminder of why he left Vanderbilt to come to MTSU, for the chance to make impact plays like that one.
Captaining a TSSAA 6A-Championship Game finalist his senior year at Brentwood in 2020, Howse had plenty of suitors coming out of high school, with 247 Sports highlighting offers from Michigan, Ole Miss, Kentucky and Arkansas, among many other programs, on his profile page on their site to this day. But it was Derek Mason at Vanderbilt who drew Howse's attention.
Howse committed early to the Commodores his senior year at Brentwood, playing for Ron Crawford, and honored that commitment come National Signing Day, despite Vanderbilt moving on from Mason at the end of the 2020 season. Howse said that despite losing the coach he had formed a relationship with during the recruiting process, he still thought Vanderbilt was the right place at the right time for him.
Off the field, Howse excelled in the classroom, eventually graduating with a degree in Medicine, Health, and Society. On the field, Howse made the most of limited opportunities, eventually playing in 11 games with one start last season as a redshirt sophomore, recording 15 tackles and snaring an interception against Kentucky. But with a degree in hand and wanting to play more, he decided to transfer from Vanderbilt at the end of spring ball in 2024.
Quickly, MTSU was a place of mutual interest for Howse and the new staff in Murfreesboro led by the coach who recruited him in high school.
"He's a good player," Stewart said of why he was interested in Howse when the portal opened. "When you recognize a good player, you like to have him. The other reason is his character, his intensity, his integrity as a person."
Stewart said not only did Mason vouch for Howse as a person and a player, but so did many others with Vandy ties on MTSU's staff, most notably Josh Smith, who was an outside linebacker on the Commodore defense while Howse was just getting his feet wet as a college player.
The playing time Howse sought in greener pastures wouldn't come easy, however, with him joining a safety room filled with guys with strong recruiting profiles and plenty of college game tape as starters.
"Our safety group is really special because we're all great players," Howse said. "We all can make plays. We all have each other's back. (Winning the starting job) was very tough, it wasn't an easy thing to do."
What made Howse stand out in a room with a lot of competition? Stewart points to his work ethic off the field as something that showed up on the field in practice week-after-week, just like it did on Saturday night in Floyd Stadium.
"He does a great job communicating, doing the extras," Stewart said. "When I say doing the extras, that's coming in after practice, after you've looked at your film yourself, after you've graded yourself and then asking the coaches, 'Am I doing this right? Is this what we're looking for?'"
For his part, Howse also credits his adaptability that was honed at Vanderbilt, allowing him to learn the playbook quickly without the benefit of spring ball.
"Being at Vandy, I learned a lot as a player because I had so many coaching changes, so many different defenses to learn," Howse said. "I kind of learned (how) to learn defenses on the fly and just get acclimated quickly. I felt I was prepared to come in a short amount of time, be able to learn the playbook and make plays at an early stage."
Now that he's got the starting nod, Howse is looking forward to more Saturdays in Floyd Stadium, where his parents, Lindy and John, and siblings, Lincoln and Queen, can continue to watch him play on Saturdays in the mid-state, like they did when he was a Commodore. The difference being now, Howse said, he has the chance to be the player he knows he can be, thanks to the chance Derek Mason gave him once again.
"He's given me the opportunity to be the player I was in high school," Howse said. "He gave me a shot to come here and play. And that's all I asked for was just a chance. I needed someone to take a chance on me and he did that."
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