The X-factor: Big 12 offenses keeping Baylor CB Xavien Howard busy

As Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett likes to say, one team’s band is going to start playing.

Big 12 cornerbacks often make a big play or become the victim of one. With 18 college starts under his belt, Howard has become one of Baylor’s most dynamic defensive playmakers.

The man Baylor coach Art Briles refers to as X has become an X-factor for the Bears.

Through the first five games, Howard ranks among the Big 12 leaders with three interceptions and four pass breakups. The fourth-year junior made his most highlight worthy play last weekend against Kansas when he scooped up a fumble by quarterback Ryan Willis and returned it for a 30-yard touchdown.

“X is a great player,” Baylor cornerback Ryan Reid said. “I think he’s the best corner in the Big 12. He’s tall and has some muscle on him. When the ball goes his way I feel it’s an incomplete pass or an interception.”

Among all the positions on the Baylor squad, cornerback has been the most heavily scrutinized over the last few years. Both Howard and Reid have been burned their share of times. But it’s also the toughest position to play because of the Bears’ abundance of man-to-man coverage.

Howard knew he was signing up for a tough job when he came to Baylor out of Houston Wheatley High School. But he loves the challenge of matching up against some of the best receivers in the country.

He believes the experience he gained as a starter last season has set him up for a superb junior year.

“This is my second year starting at cornerback and I got a lot of repetitions and I know where to be at the right time,” Howard said. “I’ve watched a lot of film, so it’s knowing what’s going on and making plays. I know people were saying (the secondary) was the weakness. But everybody got better and wants to be great.”

Ready for rematch

Remembering Baylor’s 41-27 loss to West Virginia last year in Morgantown, Howard will be especially geared up for the rematch Saturday at McLane Stadium.

Former West Virginia All-America receiver Kevin White had a great afternoon against the Bears as he made eight catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears were also flagged 18 times for a Big 12 record 215 penalty yards, and several were crucial pass interference calls.

It was the Bears’ only loss of the regular season and likely cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff.

“A lot of calls didn’t go our way during that game,” Howard said. “We left plays out there we could have made. We remember the game a lot because it messed up our season. It really messed up being in the playoffs. I’d say this is redemption.”

Howard would love to produce another game like he had last week against Kansas when he intercepted a first-quarter pass that led to a field goal and returned the fumble for a second-quarter touchdown.

After Baylor defensive tackle Beau Blackshear stripped Willis of the ball, Howard and Baylor linebacker Taylor Young both wrestled for it. Howard picked it up near the left sideline and rambled for the touchdown to give the Bears a 52-7 lead just before halftime.

“I had the flat and I saw the quarterback scramble out,” Howard said. “I saw the ball pop out and I grabbed it and just scored. I didn’t even see Taylor (Young). He grabbed for the ball but I got it.”

Coach’s trust

Briles isn’t surprised Howard is off to a great start after watching how much he developed during his first year as a starter in 2014. Howard ranked among the Big 12 leaders with 17 passes defended, including four interceptions and 13 breakups.

With more knowledge and better instincts, Howard has performed more consistently this season.

“If you can find a DB with really good ball skills, then they’ll have potential to make a lot of plays for you because they’re going to be around the ball a bunch,” Briles said. “I think that’s what separates him besides his physical ability and his stature. He’s a big guy. He’s probably a little over 6-foot, right at 200 pounds, and can run. That’s why he’s our lockdown guy and has done well the last couple years.”

Howard is taller than most cornerbacks and believes it gives him an edge against receivers.

“I see it as an advantage with my length,” Howard said. “The average cornerback is like 5-11 and I’m 6-1. It helps me on some plays. If a receiver is an inch in front of me my arms help. I feel like I’ve improved in some areas like technique and playing the ball. But there are more areas I can get better to be a shutdown corner.”

Thinking like a quarterback

If Howard has an insight into how a quarterback thinks, it’s because he was one at Wheatley High School.

In his final high school game in 2011, Howard passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 185 yards and two scores. Playing cornerback for the Wheatley defense, he returned two interceptions for scores, including a 100-yarder in a Class 4A area playoff loss to Angleton.

“He was exhausted midway through the fourth quarter, and I said Xavien you’re going to earn your scholarship tonight,” Wheatley coach Cornelius McFarland said. “It was a game any kid in high school would want to have. We lost but every kid on the opposing team came over and told him how well he played.”

While Howard was a terrific quarterback, college coaches projected him as a cornerback. As a senior, Howard intercepted nine passes and broke up 32 playing as he teamed with Wheatley cornerback Will Jackson, now a preseason All-America cornerback for the Houston Cougars.

“When people started throwing at Will and then threw at Xavien, it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire,” McFarland said. “Everything they threw to Xavien’s side he’d take it away. It came to the point where they competed for who had the most picks.”

Howard played basketball and competed for the Wheatley track team, but he knew his future was as a cornerback. After redshirting at Baylor in 2012, Howard saw significant time playing behind Demetri Goodson and K.J. Morton as a redshirt freshman.

Breakthrough play

Stepping into the starting lineup last season, Howard’s biggest moment came against Kansas State in the regular season finale when he intercepted a fourth quarter pass that helped clinch a Big 12 co-championship.

“X has a nice little swagger out there,” Baylor nickelback Travon Blanchard said. “Playing cornerback that’s what you need, especially in the Big 12, because it’s a very hot position. With the defensive line if they mess up they’ve got linebackers to help them. Linebackers have safeties. The cornerbacks are pretty much on an island. If he messes up it’s a touchdown. It takes a special player to play corner, especially for us, and X is a really special player.”

Howard has accelerated his learning curve by practicing against Baylor’s deep and talented corps of receivers.

“We’ve got quick receivers and big receivers,” Howard said. “With my arms and height, I can get my hands on them real quick. It’s easier for me against big receivers because their body frame is big and I can touch them. Little receivers like Corey (Coleman) when we go at it, he gets some plays and I get some plays.”

After practicing against him for three years, Coleman expected Howard to be one of the leaders of the Baylor defense. Coleman leads the nation with 13 touchdown catches.

“We sat down and talked and said that we’ve got to be the best,” Coleman said. “You’ve got to be the best corner, I’ve got to be the best receiver, and he’s doing a great job pursuing that.”

Bennett thinks Howard can play at an even higher level and is constantly on him to produce.

“I’m harder on him this year,” Bennett said. “I thought he started off slow, we all did. He’s not as good as he’s going to be. X is passionate.”

While Howard is entrenched at cornerback for the Bears, he hasn’t quite forgotten his days as a high school quarterback.

“He still thinks he could play quarterback,” Blanchard said. “I don’t think he can throw any more. I think he lost it. But he’s gone from playing QB to cornerback in Division I, and that’s a really big jump.”