Naesean Howard calls Syracuse University his "dream school".
Now that dream, may be coming true.
Howard told me on Tuesday that he has a scholarship offer from Syracuse University to play football for the Orange.
"Syracuse has been my dream school since I was younger and knowing that I have a scholarship, that I can go there if I keep my grades up, and stay healthy in football that I could play for SU football, it's nice." Howard says.
Howard, a junior at West Genesee, says the offer does depend on him continuing to keep his grades up and also keeping his play on the field at a high level.
"Naes" as he's called dominates on both sides of the ball. Terrorizing opposing defenses as the Wildcats primary option in the running game, but also being a force as a safety. Evidence of that was a 102 yard interception return for a score against C-NS earlier in the 2012 season.
No doubt, Howard is well aware that he has to keep up his high level work ethic on and off the field to make the dream of wearing the orange and blue come to fruition.
"It lets me know that my hard work from when I was a kid up until know has paid off and if I keep working harder it can only get better from here" Howard told me.
Howard, if he decided to attend Syracuse, would be a member of the Class of 2014. His head coach at West Genesee Joe Corley is beyond proud of what "Naes" has accomplished so far, and is excited for his future.
"I think it's awesome. He's not looking ahead, he's enjoying his high school days but it says a lot about him and the kind of kid that he is. The thing about Naes is that he's such a great kid, he's so humble and always gives credit to his teammates, his o-line, never to himself. He's just such a hard worker and a great kid to have around" Corley said.
The next step in enjoying his high school days is a big time matchup on Friday in the Section III semifinals. It's our Toyotra High School Game of the Week as the 5th seeded Wildcats meet top-seeded CBA at 5:00 at Liverpool High School. It's a rematch of last year's Section III title game, and the winner returns to that stage at the Carrier Dome next weekend.
How fitting would it be for Naesean to return to the Dome again, a place that he could call "home" in the next couple years.
