4-star quarterback Walker Howard expected to visit Ole Miss
Lafayette (La.) St. Thomas More quarterback Walker Howard has been committed to LSU for nearly five months. But he’s expected to visit Ole Miss this weekend, according to Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman.
Howard, the No. 34 overall player in the 2022 On3 Consensus rankings, committed to the Tigers under head coach Ed Orgeron, who will not be returning next season. The Tiger legacy chose LSU over offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Texas A&M and others.
He’s given no indications that he was wavering on his commitment to the Tigers, but this will be his second visit to another program in the past few weeks. He attended Notre Dame’s win against USC last weekend.
“Not knowing who is going to be the next head coach is scary,” his father, Jamie Howard, told the Lafayette Advertiser. “Even though he has the love for LSU and wants to be at LSU, it’s hard for a quarterback because so many things come into play with the type of offense that can potentially come with a new coach.”
Jamie Howard played quarterback for the Tigers from 1992-95.
Ole Miss still in search of 2022 QB commit
Walker Howard is not the first quarterback committed elsewhere to visit Ole Miss this season. USC four-star commit Devin Brown, who had been all-in with the Trojans before Clay Helton’s firing, visited Ole Miss three weeks ago.
The Rebels, who feature one of the best passing offenses in the country this season with potential first-round pick Matt Corral at the helm, are still searching for a quarterback in the 2022 class. Former Cal commit Justyn Martin visited earlier this season, but last week he committed to UCLA. With the uncertainty around who will be the head coaches at both USC and LSU, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin has jumped into poach mode. Kiffin has been mentioned as a candidate for the LSU job. But there’s likely no news coming on that front until after the conclusion of the regular season.
Walker Howard part of huge LSU recruiting class
The 6-foot-1, 195-pound Howard is one of the cherries on top of LSU’s 2022 recruiting class, which currently ranks No. 11 in the On3 team rankings. Joining Howard in the are four-star tight end Jake Johnson, four-star running back Trevonte’ Citizen, five-star interior offensive lineman Will Campbell and nearly half a dozen others.
LSU dominates recruiting in its own state, and 2022 is no exception. The Tigers have seven of the state’s top 17 prospects already committed. And they’re considered major contenders or the favorite to land six of the remaining nine who are still on the board. That include safety Jacoby Mathews (No. 32), defensive lineman Quency Wiggins (No. 67) and running back Le’Veon Moss (No. 81), and athlete Kendrick Law (No. 83),.
Orgeron’s impending ouster has caused turmoil, though. Four-star wideout Aaron Anderson flipped his commitment to Alabama this weekend, in large part due to Orgeron’s firing.
“I made this decision based off of my relationship with Coach Orgeron at LSU,” Anderson told a reporter Friday night. “We had an agreement that if he left, I’d be taking my talent to Alabama.”
With the next head coach unlikely to be announced until the end of the regular season, situations like Walker Howard’s could become more common for the Tigers.