Jasper Howard
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| Position | Cornerback |
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| Class | Junior |
| Major | Exploratory major |
| Career history | |
| College |
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| High school | Miami Edison High School |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | January 28, 1989 |
| Place of birth | Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Date of death | October 18, 2009 (aged 20) |
| Place of death | Mansfield, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Jasper Tyrone Howard (January 28, 1989 – October 18, 2009), was a cornerback for the University of Connecticut Huskies from 2007 to 2009. He was fatally stabbed on October 18, 2009, hours after UConn's win over the Louisville Cardinals.
Howard grew up in the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami, an area known for its poverty and violence. His mother JoAngila Howard worked numerous jobs to support Howard and his two younger sisters. His youngest sister had health issues after battling a severe case of meningitis. His plan was to get a football scholarship and go to the NFL to get money and get his family out of the violent streets of Miami. At Miami Edison High School, Howard was an All-Dade County pick as a senior, and named MVP of the annual Nike Dade-Broward All-Star Game after returning a punt 70 yards for a touchdown and making a 45-yard touchdown catch. He was also the team captain.
Howard became the first person in his family to go to college when he enrolled at the University of Connecticut. In his freshman season he played in seven games as a reserve defensive back and on special teams but had no starts. During the offseason he worked hard on the field and it started to pay off. He started all thirteen games in his sophomore season as cornerback and led the Big East Conference in punt returns. During his junior season Howard seemed to be getting better every game. In his last game with the Huskies on October 17, 2009, he had 7 solo tackles and 4 assisted giving him a total of 11 tackles in the game, a career high. He also had a fumble recovery.
Just after midnight on the morning of October 18, Howard and some of his teammates were at an on-campus dance to celebrate the 38-25 homecoming win over Louisville. Jasper was stabbed to death outside the Student Union Center on the UConn campus where the dance was held. On Monday, October 19, 2009 police arrested Johnny Hood, 21, of Hartford, Connecticut. Police said that Hood had been charged with interfering with an officer and with breaching the peace, but that he had not been charged in the stabbing death of Howard.
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