Versatility and stability: Lions plan to use Howard in multiple spots in 2019

During a football game, it is common practice for a team’s top cornerback to shadow the opposition’s most dangerous wide receiver.

Sometimes, defenses will designate a linebacker to spy on a quarterback that possesses the ability to escape pressure and scramble.

Offensive linemen typically remain stationary, since teams emphasize continuity, consistency and chemistry along the line that protects quarterbacks and paves the way for running backs.

But new Briarwood Christian School head coach Matthew Forester plans to mix things up. Forester has an elite offensive lineman at his disposal in Trent Howard, a senior who committed to Georgia Tech in June. Howard has played both right and left tackle so far in his high school career and worked at guard and center during the spring.

“He’s going to be playing multiple positions this year,” Forester said of Howard. “We’ve got a guy that we’re hoping can be an equalizer. ... It’s the versatility and stability that he provides.”

If Howard, who stands 6 feet, 4 inches and weighs 280 pounds, was stationed at a singular position, opposing defenses would be able to avoid him by shifting a top pass-rusher or other defensive lineman to a more vulnerable spot of the offensive line.

Howard acknowledges there are slightly different techniques with each position along the line, but he is comfortable playing all five spots.

“Wherever they need me, I’ll be,” he said.

Howard has a singular goal in mind for his senior season at Briarwood: helping the team win.

“If Coach Forester comes to me on Monday morning because he’s been watching film and he says, ‘We need you to play center this week,’ that’s what I’m going to do,” Howard said. “If Coach Forester says it and that’s what they think is best for the team, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Howard’s positioning may change from game to game throughout the season, as the Lions make the most of his talent. But he is still emphasizing the importance of forming a bond with the rest of his offensive line mates.

“It’s not just about being on the same page of [knowing] the play, but knowing the person beside you and knowing what they like,” Howard said. “A big thing is we’ll go out to eat after, and just building character bonds and friendships. Then when you get in the fourth quarter of a game, all of that stuff works its way up.”

In his early days of playing football, Howard tried his hand as a wide receiver. In middle school, he made the move to tight end. By seventh grade, he grew to the point where he became a permanent offensive lineman.

It’s a minor surprise that he’s stayed there.

“It’s rare that somebody with his athleticism would stay on that side of the ball,” Forester said. “Normally, somebody like him would be playing defense.”

He now plays with a unit that doesn’t get as much glory and recognition as the skill positions on offense, but he has no issue with that.

“Not to say the receivers, running backs and quarterbacks don’t have important jobs, but I think one of the most important jobs on the field is the offensive line,” Howard said. “If somebody up front doesn’t block, everybody knows it. But when they do block, nobody knows. You have to have a lot of selflessness.”

Georgia Tech emerged as the school for Howard after what he characterized as a “kind of long” recruiting process. Geoff Collins is the new head coach at Georgia Tech, and Brent Key, a Trussville native who most recently coached at Alabama, oversees Tech’s offensive line.

Along with football, proximity and opportunity played a big part in Howard’s choice.

“Being two and a half hours from home was a really big deal for me, because I’m really close to my grandparents and parents,” he said. “I really want them to have the opportunity to come watch me as many times as they want. Hearing about their academics and where their internships take them, especially being in the corporate center of the South in Atlanta, was a huge role.”

Howard was pulled up to the varsity squad at Briarwood during his ninth-grade season, and he watched the elder statesmen on that team lead the Lions to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the Class 5A semifinals. As a sophomore, Howard jumped in as the starting right tackle and Briarwood suffered its only loss in the state championship game. Last fall, the Lions went 9-3 in longtime coach Fred Yancey’s final season.

After starting the last 27 games for Briarwood, Howard hopes to finish his career off with several more wins. But more important than that, he wants to help continue the program’s upward trajectory on and off the field.

His goal: “Leaving the place better than I found it, and that’s hard to do, because the leaders coming up have really left this place in great shape,” he said.