USF Spring Game
Sunday, April 19 at 3:30 p.m.
Corbett Stadium on the USF Campus
$10 for general public and $5 for season ticket members
Tickets may be reserved HERE.
 

His given name is Grayson Chance Howard.
 
You can call him "Pup.''
 
As an eighth-grader, Howard went through spring football with his future team at Jacksonville's Jackson High School. The head coach nicknamed him "Pup'' but told Howard he knew that "one day you're going to be a Big Dog.''
 
That day may have arrived.
 
Howard looks like the real deal, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound package of power, speed and range, a linebacker who already seems like the leader of USF's defense. There has been plenty of bark — four-star status as a prep recruit, a scholarship to South Carolina, then two seasons with the Florida Gators — but Howard admits that it's time for more bite.
 
After starting nine games with UF in 2024, last season was a near-washout due to a lingering high-ankle sprain that required surgery and never allowed him to fully recover.
 
Can the Pup become a Big Dog with the Bulls?
 
"I'm still trying to get there,'' Howard said. "It's a humbling nickname.''
 
You've got to like his chances. Besides size and athleticism, Howard has an intangible tool — a mature perspective. Perhaps it's the product of being raised in a military family by a career Navy man. Or maybe it's the natural by-product of dealing with unforeseen obstacles.
 
"If you're a Christian and you read the story of Job (in the Bible), you realize that it could be worse,'' said Howard, 21. "You read the stories about everyone in America who is going through something, then you realize it could be worse.
 
"I mean, I get to play college football, get my education paid for. I get to play on Saturday nights and I get to be around great guys and great coaches. So, I'm very proud of the position that God has put me in. It's hard in my skin, not only as a football player, but I know that 10 years from now, I'll be a (better) man because of the situation that I had to go through.''
 
Howard, finally healthy, said he believes his best days are ahead with USF.
 
"He's really kind of a coach's dream,'' said Chad Creamer, who coaches USF's outside linebackers. "A phenomenal young man. He has everything that you want — the size, the athleticism, the experience, and he's a great leader. So, we're lucky to have him.''
 
"What a great leader,'' Bulls defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge said. "Pup has what coach A.T. (Antonio Turner, strength and conditioning coach) calls the 'gold standard' in terms of body-fat percentage and size. It's really nice to have a long linebacker like that. It creates a lot of issues out there on the hash with him being 6-foot-3-and-change, whatever he is.''
 
Howard's assets were on full display with the Gators before last season was derailed by injuries.
 
"It has made me work harder, made me really look at myself,'' Howard said. "So, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to go through those things. Adversity is the biggest and best thing anybody can go through.
 
"I think I'm in a great place here at USF. We have a diverse coaching staff from a lot of different places with play-calling experience, position experience, head-coaching experience. We have a great guy at the head of the household in Coach (Brian) Hartline. You can see all the coaches' cars in the parking lot hours before we get there. They're definitely determined and making sure that we're all on the same page.''
 
Howard, who arrived with a great reputation, already has made a name for himself at USF.
 
He was selected as the Iron Bull, "given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies unquestionable physical training dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership'' during winter conditioning drills.
 
"It was huge for me,'' Howard said. "Anybody who knows me knows I'm hard-working and disciplined. It was great being able to have that award and show my teammates that I care about them and work hard for them. Coach pushed us and grinded us through the winter training.

"This team has guys coming from a lot of different places, a lot of transfers on both sides of the ball. I think everybody is coming here for a common goal. We want to win. We want to do something that hasn't been done here, like going for a conference championship. The coaches have hand-picked guys with the right mindset. We're doing it one day at a time.'' 

They call him "Pup.''

But he's off to a Big Dog-style beginning at USF.