Cooper's Jaxon Howard makes it official with LSU

Jaxon Howard wants to see the tapes.

Father Willie Howard, the Cooper co-head football coach, was a standout defensive lineman at Stanford drafted by the Vikings. He remains proud of his playing exploits.

"My dad said he was a dog," Jaxon said. "I want us to exchange our film to compare."

First, though, Jaxon Howard must advance his own prominent football journey. He signed a national letter of intent at 7:01 a.m. Wednesday to attend Louisiana State, ending a process during which he received offers from more than 60 Power Five schools and became the state's top recruit. He will enroll early at LSU and begin classes Jan. 17.

The ceremony, subdued because impending severe winter weather caused Robbinsdale Area Schools to cancel school, included just family members. Howard woke up, signed the papers and went back to sleep.

"It was a snow day," he said. "So I was kind of hibernating."

Opposing teams tried to avoid poking this particular bear on game days this season. They ran away from Howard, a 6-4, 240-pound defensive end who also played middle linebacker. Nevertheless, he registered 120 tackles, four tackles for loss and an interception for a Hawks team that finished sub-.500 for the first time since 2011.

The win/loss column failed to define Howard this season. Coaches lauded his play, equal parts unselfish and inspired.

"There was a lot of character development for me this season," Howard said. "I learned how people respond differently to the different ways a leader acts. Some respond to what I do by example. Some guys, I had to yell sometimes and get on them to get them to respond. These are tools I want to bring with me to college."

The LSU coaching staff envisions Howard at the "jack" position, a hybrid of defensive end and outside linebacker. He will do whatever is asked.

"I'm coming down there with an open mind," Howard said. "I want to be a sponge, to take in all the knowledge coming from the coaches and the veterans and add it to my game. I want to be coachable. That's how you produce. And if you're not coachable, that's how you wind up in the transfer portal."

Spoken like a coach's son. But Howard didn't always appear suited to follow his father into major college football. As a second-grader playing running back on a team of third-graders, Howard took a shot, hit the ground and got his wind knocked out. Willie Howard stood at his son's feet, imploring him to shake it off.

The lesson continued later that evening.

"He took myself and my older brother [Phoenix Sproles] on the front lawn, had us put our pads on and told me to hit my brother," Howard said with a laugh. "He was telling me that I can't have a soft mentality, even as a second-grader.

"I think my mom recorded it from inside a window. There is probably film of it somewhere."