Michigan’s Magic Man : Desmond Howard Scores a Touchdown Every 4.35 Times He Touches the Ball, but It Was One Catch Against Notre Dame That Put Him at the Head of Heisman List

Is he magic or is he Magic?

Desmond Howard, whose mystifying feats for Michigan on the football field helped earn him the Heisman Trophy, and who answers the telephone, “Magic speaking,” is a bit of both.

Who can forget the sight of him levitating in the end zone on fourth and one to snare a touchdown pass that sealed the fate of Notre Dame in September? Or the sleight-of-hip running as he threaded his way 93 yards on a punt return through the Ohio State team to put a cap on the Wolverines’ undefeated Big Ten championship season.

“The Catch,” as Howard refers to his 25-yard reception in the fourth quarter that turned a tentative 17-14 lead into a 24-14 victory over the Fighting Irish, also caught the attention of Heisman voters. Before the Notre Dame game, even though Howard had scored four touchdowns in the opening game against Boston College, his name was not mentioned among such Heisman candidates as Houston’s Dave Klingler, California’s Russell White, Florida State’s Casey Weldon or the 1990 winner, Brigham Young’s Ty Detmer.

“There’s no doubt that catch made me a candidate for the Heisman,” Howard said during a quiet moment as he and his teammates prepared for their New Year’s Day assignment against undefeated Washington in the Rose Bowl. “I didn’t think much about anything but catching the ball at the time it happened, but when I went home that night and watched it on TV, I could see how spectacular it was.

“It was just determination and effort and the result of a lot of hard work. When I hear that I have a flair for the spectacular, I think of all the hours I’ve spent in practice and working all summer with Elvis (quarterback Grbac) on our timing. We’ve worked so hard on executing plays that it comes out looking easy.”

Howard and Grbac come from the same high school, St. Joseph of Cleveland, where they were better known for their basketball than football skills. There was only one Grbac-to-Howard scoring pass in high school, so there was no indication of the record-setting aerial touchdowns ahead at Michigan. As Wolverines, the 5-foot-9 Howard and the 6-5 Grbac have combined for 31 touchdowns, an NCAA record for scoring passes from a quarterback to the same receiver.

It was long before St. Joseph High, however, that Howard got the nickname “Magic.” It came from basketball. Yes, the smiles match.

“I was in the seventh grade, playing basketball at the JFK Recreation Center in Cleveland,” Howard said. “A playoff game went into overtime and we won, 25-20, and I made all but five of our points. My father still has the score sheet. After the game, my coach, Tony Johnson, called me ‘Magic’ and it stuck. I liked it.”

Howard was a point guard in basketball and a defensive back in football until his senior year at St. Joseph, when he became a tailback as well as safety.

“When I recruited him, I really didn’t know where we would use him,” Michigan Coach Gary Moeller recalled. “He was small and not that fast, but the St. Joseph coaching staff kept telling us what a competitor he was until we finally took him.”

At the time, Moeller was Bo Schembechler’s assistant.

John Storey, one of Howard’s prep coaches, recalls Howard’s last game in high school, a 21-20 loss to Boardman of Youngstown in triple overtime.

“Desmond ran back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, but what really sticks out was the defensive play he made on their running back,” Storey told Dick Fenlon of the Columbus Dispatch. “They were on our two-yard line and Desmond is the free safety. Their back dove over the line of scrimmage, and Desmond hit him in midair and knocked him back. It was one of the greatest defensive hits I’ve ever seen, college or high school.”

All of which left Michigan coaches wondering what to do with the little guy.

“When he showed up for the first day of practice, he was listed as a defensive back,” Moeller said. “The next day he was a running back, and the third day he

was a wide receiver.”

Cam Cameron, the end coach, wanted him, but he already had three talented veteran receivers.

“I knew Desmond was something special, but I felt we needed to redshirt him,” Cameron said. “Most skill-positions players want to play right now, but when I told Desmond I wanted to redshirt him, he said, ‘Fine.’ That told me a lot about his attitude, that he had a future at the University of Michigan.”

Howard says he was happy to sit out a year because he knew he had a lot to learn about becoming a wide receiver, a position he had never played.

“It was good for me to sit back in line, waiting my turn,” Howard said. “The receivers at Michigan block so much, and they block so well, I had a lot to learn. I’d never blocked in high school, being a tailback and defensive player. I could always catch the ball pretty well, but I worked all season and all summer at improving my catching ability.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon during summers, Grbac and Howard practiced passing routes and timing, creating a chemistry in which each knew what the other was thinking.

That is the attitude that endeared Howard to the Michigan coaching staff, as well as his teammates.

“Desmond is a great self-motivator,” Moeller said. “The kid always works his rear end off to get things right. He doesn’t like to fail. He wants the ball, but he’s a good blocker, a good team guy. He has incredible direction in his life.”

Ricky Powers, Michigan’s No. 1 ballcarrier, whose 1,187 yards and nine touchdowns have been overshadowed by Howard’s exploits, says of his teammate: “Desmond’s the type person that if you just met him, you’d never know he won the Heisman. In practice and in a game, he keeps himself focused on team play. But opposing teams put so much emphasis and time trying to stop him that he gives the running backs a chance to make big plays.”

His Heisman acceptance speech did not hurt his image.

“I dedicate this award to the 1991 Michigan football team because this was done through a team effort,” he told a national TV audience. “Hail to the victors and go Blue!”

Howard said one of his toughest assignments this year was trying to deflect all the attention he was receiving as a Heisman candidate.

“I think at this point, with the regular season over, the coaches and teammates realize I handled it pretty well and never let it become a big issue during the season,” he said. “Winning games kept me in focus. I never put pressure on myself to win the Heisman or any other award (he also won the Walter Camp Trophy and Maxwell Award). My goal was to be the best I could. The only one who would know if I gave 100% would be me. The trophies and accolades that came in the postseason indicate how well I satisfied my goal.

“As the season went along, I knew teams would try to take me out of the game, often with some very unordinary things, but Coach Moeller found ways to get me the ball.”

What coach wouldn’t, when his prize performer scored a touchdown every 4.35 times he handled the ball? Howard gained 950 yards in 61 receptions, good for 19 touchdowns. He also scored on a 93-yard kickoff return against Boston College, a 93-yard punt return against Ohio State and had two touchdowns running from scrimmage, 15 yards against Illinois and 29 yards on an end-around reverse against Notre Dame.

The 138 points he scored broke Tom Harmon’s season record of 117 set in 1940, the last time a Michigan player had won the Heisman.

Howard, never a showboat during his career, couldn’t contain himself after his punt return in his final game. As he reached the end zone, he struck the stiff-arm pose made famous by the Heisman Trophy--two weeks before the winner would be announced.

“I had contemplated doing it if I got the opportunity,” he acknowledged. “I’d never practiced it, but I’d thought about it.”

And what did other players think about such a grandstand performance?

“They loved it,” he said. “Some of them said they thought it was more spectacular than my catches. I had a lot of positive comment. Even Steve Emtman (Washington’s defensive tackle) thought it was great. So did Detmer and Weldon. They were with me at the Heisman awards, and they kidded me about it and said it was great.

“Coach Moeller’s reaction? He was so high on Cloud 9 after beating up on Ohio State and going through the Big Ten season undefeated that I don’t know if he even knew what I did.”

Don James, Washington’s coach, probably wasn’t concerned with Howard’s posing, but he acknowledges he’s not too happy with what he has seen of him in game films.

“The first thing you do is try to find No. 21,” James said. “You try to play him one on one and he’s just, zip! standing in the end zone and the officials are signaling touchdown. So you say, ‘OK, double-cover him,’ and then you see all those horses up front and good running backs and a quarterback who can throw and wonder how are you going to play those guys a man short.

“Every time I saw that No. 21 (on film), I wished I hadn’t watched.”