It is a writer’s worst nightmare. Words can’t compete.
So, please, scroll down. Watch the clip. Then come back. Seriously. Yes, seriously, I’ll wait.
Hi.
So? I told you, right? Astounding? Mesmerizing? Defies logic? Defies physics?
It is one of one, a Picasso in a hall of photographs. It has to be seen to be believed, then watched again to confirm you weren’t deceived. It is why this scooping, swinging, sidearmed, skee-ball throw fired by Long Island University freshman Chris Howell was viewed 4.8 million times in less than a week.
And it is only now that the 17-year-old southpaw from Jamaica, Queens, realizes just how extreme and unusual his lifelong throwing motion appears to others.
“It was shocking,” said Howell last week, of watching the clip. “It’s weird to me because it doesn’t feel low.”
There was no hint of what would follow a pass like so many he had thrown before. Nearly four weeks ago, Howell quietly connected on a 48-yard pass at Bryant. Two days after Howell completed his 35-yard viral pass at Baylor, he enjoyed anonymity.
The following Tuesday morning, Howell awoke to more than 100 text messages alerting him of his newfound fame. Comments from strangers poured in. He was the “Shawn Marion of football.” His throw was compared to someone swinging a tennis racquet. He was a ringer for Uncle Rico from “Napoleon Dynamite.”
“That was the funniest one,” his mother, Lisa, said. “That had me laughing.”
Howell was just a kid who wanted to be like his big brother, Jorden Bennett, now a defensive back at LIU. They grew up playing on their dead end street and in Brookville Park. They played with a regulation-sized football, which Howell could only accurately throw underhanded.
“He didn’t feel like he needed a little ball,” his mother said. “It was like, ‘I’m not a baby. I can do what you can do.’”
It wasn’t an issue for a dynamic running back and wide receiver. It wasn’t until Howell was 12 that he became a quarterback, when he ran a deep route in practice and caught the coach’s attention after throwing the ball back.
Multiple coaches attempted to fix his mechanics. Muscle memory always prevailed.
“I’d be able to do it in training, but once it got in the game, it just goes back to normal,” Howell said. “When I’m in a game, I’m not thinking I’ve gotta throw it this way. I go to what’s comfortable.
“I could see where they were coming from, so I was always open-minded with it. But it never worked.”
As a senior at Canarsie High School in Brooklyn, the quarterback who eventually would catch the eyes of millions couldn’t hold the attention of college coaches. The family wondered whether he would need to be a walk-on. Howell eventually received offers from UMass and Wagner, but the class valedictorian understood why few recruiters came to southeast Brooklyn.
LIU head coach Ron Cooper — the former head coach at Louisville and a former assistant with LSU, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and others — was initially hesitant, too, after seeing Howell at a quarterback camp as a junior. But once Cooper watched Howell lead Canarsie — which reached the 2022 PSAL title game — the coach could see the potential of the dual-threat quarterback.
“I went to see him in person and I said, ‘He can play almost anywhere in the country,’” Cooper said. “I didn’t worry about his motion. He’s very accurate. If his arm wasn’t strong, it might be a problem, but his arm is as strong as any I’ve been around — maybe one or two arms over my 30-something years that are stronger throwing the ball. He may not have gotten offers from a lot of places because of it, but this is what got him here. This got him a full scholarship.
“And this kid can run the ball. For this level, it’s like Michael Vick coming out of high school. I just left the SEC. There’s probably only two quarterbacks in the SEC as fast as him.”
The soft-spoken southpaw wasn’t supposed to see much action this season. Howell’s first passes came in Week 2 after starter Luca Stanzani suffered a shoulder injury. He completed 9 of 19 passes for 139 yards against Bryant with one rushing touchdown. Howell added another rushing score at Baylor. In his third start, he completed 8 of 12 passes for 105 yards — plus 38 rushing — with one touchdown and one interception.
The Sharks (0-4) host Sacred Heart (1-4) on Saturday at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium. More eyes are on the sixth-year FCS program than ever before. Most of those eyes are on the youngest quarterback in the country to start against an FBS team this season.
“I feel bad putting it on a 17-year-old,” Cooper said. “I didn’t expect him to even play this year, but he kept getting better and better. He’s got a different mindset. I’ve been very fortunate to be around some guys that got it at a young age. I can name them on two hands. There’s something about him. He’s built different.
“He’s handled [the attention] unbelievably. He’s calm and cool. He’s very mature for his age. Very smart … 17, he should be getting ready to go to the homecoming dance at high school.”
Howell could have reclassified. He could have gained another year of experience before college. He could have accepted extra opportunities to attract recruiters from bigger programs.
He took a different angle.
“A lot of people tried to get me to reclassify him, and I said, ‘He does really well in school, and if I do that, it strictly would be for football and I don’t agree with changing the trajectory of everything else in his life,” his mother said. “If he’s gonna do this, he’ll have to rise to the occasion. If not, it means it wasn’t meant for him.
“Now, all eyes are on you. You have an opportunity to show what you’re made of.”