Former HBCU stars Jarveon Howard and Emanuel Wilson played key roles in the Green Bay Packers’ season-ending victory over the Washington Commanders. Wilson was the team’s leading runner with 13 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown, while Howard was second on the team with 8 carries for 44 yards.
Wilson showed an excellent mix of power, agility and vision during the game. “I felt like I kept my feet moving,” Wilson said, according to a report by Wes Hodkiewicz, senior writer at Packers.com. “My blockers set everything up for me and I just made all the plays when I had my opportunity.”
The former Fort Valley State Wildcats star was the NFL’s best runner in last year’s preseason, rushing for 223 yards on 38 runs and scoring two touchdowns.
Now he plans to use the rest of this year’s preseason to build on his 2023 regular season. Wilson ran for 85 yards on 14 carries in seven games and caught four passes for 23 yards in 2023.
After hitting the HBCU jackpot in 2023, they returned to their HBCU roots and signed Jarveon Howard from Alcorn State. Howard’s powerful fourth-quarter runs helped the Packers to their win against the Browns. The former top Alcorn State runner showed he can be a key part of the Packers’ running back rotation.
Both Wilson and Howard are among the greatest HBCU talents of recent history.
Related newsArticle continues below
In two years at Fort Valley State, Wilson rushed for 2,087 yards and 22 touchdowns in 16 games. He was also a dangerous receiver out of the backfield, making 31 catches for 278 yards and two touchdowns. Before attending Fort Valley State, Wilson attended Johnson C. Smith, where he rushed 159 times for 1,040 yards and 13 touchdowns in his only season there.
At Alcon State, Howard consistently ran through defenses in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). After transferring from Syracuse, Howard rushed for 2,048 yards and 19 touchdowns in 22 games at Alcorn State.
HBCU’s dynamic running back duo returns to action on Sunday, August 18, when the Green Bay Packers take on the Denver Broncos. The game will be played at 8 p.m. EST at Empower Field at Mile High.
