For running backs and wide receivers, the idea of accomplishing the triple crown – being the leader in yards, touchdowns, and carries or attempts – in any capacity is remarkable for any player.
Jarveon Howard has the chance to accomplish that feat.
The senior running back for the Alcorn Braves has arguably been the best in the SWAC, leading the conference with 191 carries and 1,056 rushing yards – currently the only player with at least 1,000 yards on the ground this season. Howard’s ten touchdowns are also third-best in the SWAC, trailing only UAPB’s Kayvon Britten and Prairie View’s Trazon Connley.
While the numbers are great, and Howard has a strong chance to finish the season as the SWAC’s rushing leader, he has a chance to accomplish something bigger than that: be a record-breaker.
Howard is realistically in range of De’Lance Turner’s school single-season record of 1,401 rushing yards, which he set in 2017. The other aspects of the triple crown are a little harder to come by; Arnold Walker holds the record with 16 rushing touchdowns in 2013, and Rodney Thomas has the record with 261 carries during the 1998 season.
Still, Howard has two games to surpass those feats, and the first will be against Bethune-Cookman, who has the worst run defense in the SWAC. It’ll be the season finale where Alcorn’s senior running back will face his biggest test against the best defense against the run in the SWAC – Jackson State.
For those keeping count, here are the two-game averages Howard will need to have to own the Alcorn rushing triple crown records:
- 173 rushing yards/gm
- 35.5 carries/gm
- 3.5 rushing touchdowns (or seven total rushing scores)
Each feat has a different difficulty level, especially considering he’d have to do so against a Tiger defense that’s only allowed 86.3 rushing yards a game. On the other hand, a good showing by Howard against Jackson State would bring a lot more weight to a potentially historic season.
Before Deion Sanders and Jackson State take the trip to Lorman, Howard and the Braves will have to contend with the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats for a 2 PM CT kickoff at Casem-Spinks Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 12. HBCU GO returns to broadcast another Alcorn State home game.
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