Desmond Howard is going, but Lou Holtz still holds out hope Rick Mirer will stay.
Howard, the Heisman Trophy winner from Michigan, decided he won`t make a run for a second award, announcing Tuesday he will forgo a fifth year of eligibility to turn pro. He went for dollars over hardware.
Mirer, meanwhile, hasn`t revealed his decision; he has until Feb. 1. But the Notre Dame quarterback did attend a team meeting Sunday and did meet with Holtz afterward.
”I just plan on him coming back,” the Irish coach said Tuesday. ”We`ve approached recruiting that way.”
Did Mirer tell Holtz he planned to return?
”No, nor did I ask him,” Holtz said.
Mirer has kept a low profile since the Sugar Bowl. Back then, he said he would consider entering the draft if he were able to determine whether he would go high in the first round. Most assessments have Mirer pegged as at least a top-10 choice, and perhaps in the top three.
If he stays, Mirer would be a top candidate for the Heisman, especially with Howard out of the picture. That could be incentive enough, along with leading a Notre Dame run for the national title.
”I`m convinced he is not going to run away from anything,” Holtz said.
”If something comes up that he needs to run to, I would encourage that.”
Unlike Howard, Mirer never has been adamant about returning for his senior season. Howard showed Tuesday he`s just as capable of reversing his steps off the field as well as on.
In November, Howard steadfastly maintained he would be at Michigan in 1992.
”As far as I`m concerned, I`m coming back,” he said.
It turned out Howard merely was following in the tradition of past junior Heisman Trophy winners-Barry Sanders (1988), Andre Ware (1989) and Raghib Ismail (1990). In the fall, they were thinking school; by the winter, it was money and the pros.
”As far as awards and accolades are concerned, once you`ve won the Heisman, then most people in college football think you`ve done it all,” said Howard, who scored 23 touchdowns this season. ”I think there`s nothing else I could do as far as individual accomplishments would be concerned. All I would be striving for was to help Michigan win the national championship.”
Because the Wolverines have to go through the Rose Bowl to reach that goal, that might be a lost cause.
The decision wasn`t unexpected, although Howard`s mother, Hattie, thought he might stay. Michigan coach Gary Moeller wanted Howard to return but admitted he had a hard time giving him advice against leaving.
Howard, who redshirted his freshman year, is on schedule to receive his degree in May. Despite being only 5 feet 9 inches, 176 pounds, the pros project the spectacular receiver and return specialist won`t be around by the 10th choice.
”Howard is a first-five-to-seven pick,” said John Butler, director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills. ”He`s a game-breaker and a game-changer.”
Some scouts say Howard`s superior receiving abilities make him a better all-around player than Ismail, currently with Toronto in the Canadian Football League. Howard could join Ismail in the CFL, because the Calgary Stampeders, who own his rights, are expected to make a big-money offer for him.
”At this stage, it`s a business,” Howard said. ”In the business world, it`s about marketability. You go to the highest bidder.”
Howard said leaving was a difficult decision, adding he consulted Ismail, Magic Johnson and former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.
”What made me decide is not any one particular thing,” Howard said.
”It`s a lot of opinions and just a critical outlook upon things that have taken place in my life.”
