LSU added to its future quarterback room Friday when Walker Howard from the Class of 2022 announced his commitment to the Tigers.
Howard is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound QB from St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, Louisiana, and held offers from Alabama, Arizona State, Baylor, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Penn State, TCU and Texas A&M among a few others.
"During quarantine I was thinking a lot, and my dad and I sat down and talked about where I would be happiest," Howard said. "Where do I see myself living the next four to five years, and I'm a big family guy, so I wanted to stay close to my family. So why not make my decision now and start recruiting my class."
Family was important for Howard, who has two sisters currently at LSU and a father, Jamie, who played quarterback for the Tigers from 1992 to 1995.
LSU is where Jamie met Walker's mother, Kathryn, and was another reason Howard chose the Tigers. His mother was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer going into Howard's eighth-grade year. She was given a life expectancy of eight months but lived for an additional 18 months until her death on Sept. 27, 2018.
When the family sat down to decide which school Walker would pick, Howard's mother was ever-present in his mind. With an awareness that it's where she would have wanted him to go, he knows now she was proud of his choice.
"Coach [Ed] Orgeron was screaming when I committed, he was all fired up," Howard said. "I told him how happy my mom would be and he said he had goosebumps. My mom was the rock of our family, she was like Superwoman, and this is where she always wanted me to end up going."
Living out his childhood dream, making his mother proud and following in his father's footsteps, all while staying 45 minutes from home, was the perfect combination for Howard and his family.
Having the opportunity to come in and compete for a spot at quarterback on an LSU team that is fresh off a national championship only added to the excitement.
With Howard committed, LSU is filling up its future quarterback room with talented quarterbacks. In 2019, LSU signed ESPN 300 signal-caller Peter Parrish; in 2020, the staff signed ESPN 300 quarterback Max Johnson and four-star T.J. Finley. In 2021, the Tigers have ESPN 300 quarterback Garrett Nussmeier committed, and they are now adding Howard in 2022.
Life without Joe Burrow will be an adjustment for LSU, but the staff is doing everything it can to ensure there is competition at the position. Howard is hoping to only add to that level of competition and replicate what Burrow was this past season.
"I'm going to be on that team, and I'm going to be a big leader," Howard said. "I'm going to be very vocal and help us win another national championship."