Desmond Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1970. Howard earned All-Ohio and All-American honors as a senior tailback at St. Joseph’s High School in Cleveland. Howard rushed for 1,499 yards as a senior, plus scored 18 touchdowns and had 10 interceptions on defense.
Instead of staying in his home state of Ohio and playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Howard decided to play college football at rival Michigan and play for the Wolverines. While at Michigan, Howard set or tied five NCAA and 12 Michigan records.
