Former Michigan football great Desmond Howard elected to College Football Hall of Fame

Former Michigan receiver Desmond Howard was one of 12 players and two coaches elected to the College Football Hall of Fame on Thursday.

"I’m tremendously honored, I’m humbled by this honor," Howard said in a news conference on ESPN. "I feel as though football’s the ultimate team sport and everyone who was involved in my career at Michigan, I bring them along with me into the Hall of Fame because I couldn’t have accomplished anything that I did by myself."

Michigan football announcer Frank Beckman, left, laughs with former Michigan standout receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard on April 17 at the annual spring game. Howard will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 7.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

Howard led Michigan to three Big Ten championships in as many years and won the 1991 Heisman Trophy. He finished with 134 career catches for 2,146 yards, and has the highest return average (22.4 ypr) in Michigan history.

Former Michigan coach Gary Moeller recalled how Howard was recruited as a running back and settled in at receiver after a brief dalliance with defense his freshman year.

“The first day, of course Bo (Schembechler) was still the coach then, but we had a meeting and it’s just the freshmen in there,” Moeller said. “And I told Desmond, we’re going to play you at running back, we may try you some at wide receiver or something like that, you never know how those things work out.

“Believe me, he’s proud of what he’s done and he believes in himself, but after Bo (was finished) he said, ‘OK, defensive players all go next door, offensive players all stay in here.’ Desmond got up and walked out with the defensive backs. I went over and knocked on the door and grabbed him after the meeting and said, ‘Desmond what are you doing?’ He said, ‘I don’t know. I just think I’d have a better chance to play.’ I said, ‘We recruited you (on offense) and we’re going to stick with that.’”

One of Michigan’s most explosive players, Howard is most remembered for striking the Heisman pose after a 93-yard punt return against Ohio State. But Moeller said his fondest memory was the fourth-and-1 touchdown Howard caught against Notre Dame.

Moeller said the play, called “Wolverine,” should have been checked to a running play called "Bo" at the line of scrimmage because of Notre Dame’s defensive alignment. Instead, Howard and quarterback Elvis Grbac improvised, and the quick pass turned into a fade route in the back corner of the end zone.

“There isn’t any play like the Notre Dame catch,” Moeller said. “Elvis just laid it up. He threw it high … and Desmond just took off, flew out there and caught that ball and that was unbelievable.”

Howard will be inducted with the rest of the 2010 class Dec. 7. Also elected Thursday were: North Carolina State’s Dennis Byrd, Arkansas’ Ronnie Caveness, Texas A&M’s Ray Childress, UCLA’s Randy Cross, USC’s Sam Cunningham, Purdue’s Mark Herrmann, Duke’s Clarkston Hines, Navy’s Chet Moeller, LSU’s Jerry Stovall, Arizona State’s Pat Tillman, Colorado’s Alfred Williams, and coaches Gene Stallings and Barry Alvarez.

Thirty-two other hall members either played or coached at Michigan, including Schembechler, Tom Harmon and Fielding Yost.

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.