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Auburn’s tight end room for 2025 got a big boost on Friday night when Preston Howard decided to head to the Plains for next season after transferring from Maryland.
And how did Hugh Freeze and Auburn know so much about the 6-foot-4, 231-pound sophomore, who’s been toiling in the Big Ten? Well, the Tigers saw first-hand what Howard could do in last season’s Music City Bowl, when Howard caught what would turn out to be his only touchdown at Maryland against what would turn out to be his future school.
It was on Dec. 30, 2023, when Howard snagged a 5-yard touchdown strike in the first quarter against Auburn to give Maryland an early 14-0 lead. The Terrapins would go on to win, 31-13, but in the long run the Tigers ended up winning by getting Howard in the portal almost exactly a year later.
That was the only pass Howard caught that day, by the way, but he made enough of an impression on the Auburn program and will now be a part of it for the 2025 season. Howard caught 24 passes for 189 yards for the Terps this season, but he never found the end zone.
Last season as a freshman, Howard caught 13 passes for 160 yards. Now, the Maryland native will be leaving his home state to test his mettle in the SEC next fall.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
