HBCU Football: Is 2021 the year the Howard Bison will shine?

Biggest storylines for Howard heading into 2021

How well has the young Howard defense developed?

As previously mentioned, the Howard defense had a litany of players who had solid freshman seasons in 2019 in spite of the team finishing with a dreadful 2-10 record on the season.

Their defense was loaded with young players spreading themselves across the conference leaderboard. Elton Jean-Baptiste and Aaron Walker each tied for the second-most forced fumbles while Darrian Brokenburr ranked in the top 20 in tackles for loss.

In addition, Rodney Dennard tied for sixth in interceptions while Ray Williams was in the top 20 in passes defended.

With all their individual accomplishments, it did not translate to team success ranking dead last in points allowed, yards allowed, and passing yards allowed.

The million-dollar question for the Howard defense is how well have they developed? If the chemistry is there, the sky’s the limit for this group but they will need some help.

Where do the contributions come from on offense?

The Howard Bison offense will look extremely different this season with several players gone due to graduating or transferring.

The most glaring omission was their now former running back Dadrick Parson who was the conference’s second-leading rusher as a sophomore in the 2019 season.

If that’s not bad enough, each of their three leading receivers (Kyle Anthony, Michael Cornwell, and Damion Gillespie) have graduated while their backup quarterback Caylin Newton transferred to the Auburn Tigers.

During Howard’s two-game spring season, Quinton Williams started at quarterback and had a solid spring season passing for 386 yards scoring two touchdowns and running for 67 yards and a touchdown.

If Williams is able to have a good enough season, the Bison could easily exceed expectations and be a contender for a MEAC title.