Wow. I'm sensing plenty of bandwagon jerks in this thread. Howard was not a star QB, by any stretch, but he really stepped up his game in 95. For those with short memories, he really played a solid game against Auburn to follow up his personal nightmare the year before. That took a lot of guys. The entire stadium would have unloaded on him if he had choked again, but he didn't. he stood up to the pressure, and helped the Tigers get a HUGE upset win that put them back on the college football map. Don't be stupid and minimize that.

For those who want to go by the numbers, Howard was injured less than halfway through the season, but continued to try and play until I think the Bama game finished him off. I was at the game, and he played with a lot of guts. He took a beating, as I recall. Bama had one of those amazing defenses that year, and the game was on the road, so I'm sure that wasn't any fun.

Also, for those who think the Tigers wouldn't have missed Howard early in the season, I was at the UK game in Lexington where Melvin Hill was inserted as the starter when Howard couldn't go, and Tyler wasn't seen as a viable option yet. It was a total freakin disaster. LSU would have destroyed UK if Howard had been able to play. The Tigers dominated the first half, but the offense stumbled around with Hill looking terrible, the D got tired, and then we lost to a really bad team.

My point? People look at the record and jump to conclusions about Jamie Howard. Look a little deeper. The guy played a big role and getting the momentum going for what turned out to be a very important season for Tiger football. Herb Tyler did an excellent job coming in as an unheralded freshman, but don't forget that Howard's work and success against a few tough opponents help build some hope that a bowl game was possible.