Searching for a championship, Southern QB Austin Howard "poised for a major breakout year"

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana -- Southern coach Dawson Odums did not mince any words when asked about the importance of junior quarterback Austin Howard, who was named to the preseason All-SWAC first team at last week’s media day.

“He’s the best in the conference,” Odums said. “Look at the numbers.”

The numbers present a pretty compelling case. Howard finished with the best passer efficiency in the league last season, at 155.8, while completing a SWAC-high 65.4 percent of his passes.

He finished the season with 16 touchdowns against four interceptions through the air and added another eight scores on the ground.

It was an impressive season, especially for a sophomore who has never benefited from spring practice as a college football player.

But there’s still one number that is missing when Odums looks at Howard’s résumé.

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