When Covid kept the St. Vincent Pallotti football team from conducting practices in August of 2020, the Panthers had to turn to Zoom Video Conferencing to get things done, including doing exercises. Mammoth offensive lineman Ryan Howerton took part. He did pushups at home and a Pallotti coach who watched him was impressed with his size.
“I was taking up the whole camera,” Howerton recalls. “The coach said, ‘You are taking up the whole screen out there. You are like a Mountain.’”
Mountain became his nickname, and it stuck all through high school.
Howerton, who is now 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, had a lot more going for him than just his size. He plays with great power and runs faster than many players this size. That’s why he became such a coveted recruit. He had 19 scholarship offers and about 40 schools recruited him.
He ended up picking the University of Maryland—the college he grew up rooting for—over West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh. Howerton even had an offer from Ohio State University.
He verbally committed to Maryland in July and signed a National Letter of Intent in December of last year. Howerton plans to major in journalism and chose Maryland in large part because of Head Coach Kevin Locksley, who has a reputation as a great recruiter.
He will start attending the school in late-January after graduating from Pallotti in mid-January
“I got a chance to sit down and really get to know him [Locksley] on my official visit,” Howerton says. “I heard about his character and how he really gets out and recruits in the local community. I was hearing it but not really seeing it. When I heard the truth from him, it was something I could really get behind.”
Pallotti Head Football Coach Tony Ashley feels Howerton made a great college choice even though he received offers from other high-profile programs.
“Maryland’s offensive line coach has tons of NFL experience,” Ashley says. “And Ryan has a lot of family and support here in Maryland. With him going to Maryland, we get to watch him play.”
The biggest football accomplishment for Howerton is obviously earning a scholarship to Maryland, but playing in the Under Armour All-America game in early January in Orlando wasn’t far behind. A group of college and high school coaches picked 100 players from across the country to participate in the game.
“It was my dream,” Howerton admits. “It was the pinnacle of high school football for me and the overarching story.”
What really got Howerton noticed was his performance at two high-profile camps. The 18-year-old participated in the Rivals and the Under Armour All-America camps in May in Baltimore and New Jersey, respectively. The events feature only offensive linemen and the best from across the country. Howerton won Most Valuable Player honors at both. It led to him being picked for the Under Armour All-America game.
“When you consider there are close to 15,000 high school football programs and the average program has 30 or 40 kids,” Ashley says. “And only 100 players are making the Under Armor All-America team. Do that math. That puts into perspective what type of football player he is.”
Howerton, an Upper Marlboro resident, started for four years on the offensive line. He played guard as a freshman, both right tackle and left tackle as a sophomore, then settled in at right tackle the past two seasons. The Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association named him to its First Team in 2022 and 2023.
“It was an unfair advantage,” Pallotti Offensive Line Coach Al Brady says of Howerton lining up against other players. “Some are guys are his size, but they don’t fire off the ball with his strength and explosion.”
What is Howerton’s biggest strength? His speed. He was clocked at 4.95 in the 40-yard dash at the Under Armour camp.
“He has incredible speed and his [40-yard dash] time is an NFL-caliber time,” Ashley says. “He has the perfect combination of speed, size, strength, and football I.Q.”
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