Alabama-Birmingham tailback Jordan Howard will continue his college career now that the Blazers have dropped out of the football business. Unfortunately, it would be at Vanderbilt.
Howard chose Indiana over the Commodores on Thursday when he filled out the necessary student aid paperwork to become a Hoosier. The speedy sophomore ran for 1,587 yards and had eight 100-yard rushing games in 2014. He would have had an instant impact for a Vandy team that has talent, but not depth, in the backfield.
Vanderbilt will be stuck with Ralph Webb in 2015, which is still a pretty solid consolation prize. Webb set the team's freshman record for rushing yards this fall when he ran for 907 yards on 212 carries. He also tied for the team lead with four touchdowns. He'll be flanked by rising sophomore Dallas Rivers (218 yards as a true freshman) and incoming recruits Josh Crawford and Dare Odeyingbo (assuming he stays on offense).
The Commodores dismissed tailbacks Jerron Seymour and Brian Kimbrow from the program in 2014. Both would have been eligible to play in 2015 if they were still with the team.
Howard will fill the void left behind by Tevin Coleman, who declared for the NFL Draft three days ago. He'll hope that the offensive line that cleared enough space for Coleman's 2,000-yard rushing season can provide a similar boost for his running game.