"George is a polite, God-fearing young man, the type of guy whom you'd want to marry your daughter - until you see him play," Morgan coach Donald Hill-Eley said. "George won't just wrap you up and lay you down, he'll try to run through you.
"He sees it, he moves to it and he makes it happen. The field is his territory, a place where he has a free pass to knock people out."
That has been Howard's mantra all along, those who know him say.
"Even at age 7, in rec ball, he used to make kids cry," Vanessa Howard said. "Most young boys love to score. All George wanted was to lay you out."
Twice, while playing football inside, Howard broke the family's VCR. Another time, he ran into a wall in the foyer, sending plaster flying. Howard wasn't hurt.
"I remember his first day in pads, as a freshman," said David Cox, then coach at Deep Creek High (Va.). "I heard a noise that sounded like a kid got 'blown up.' It was George, making a tackle. That joker caught my eye real quick."
Even in games, Howard's high school teammates might feel his pain.
"Playing beside George could be dangerous," said Josh Anderson, a Deep Creek alum and now Norfolk State's strong safety. "Once, a running back broke up the middle and we both hit him. I got there first. Then George hit us both."
Anderson shuddered, recalling it.
"I saw colors, man," he said. "We used to call George 'Ray Lewis' because he hit like him. He really rang me on that play."
Howard's next stop: Louisburg Junior College (N.C.), where he raised his academic standing, created a chapel program for the football team and sided with the coach in a dispute with players who balked at the team's short-hair policy.
"George never lost popularity with his teammates for being his own man," said Rick Mohlmann, then Louisburg's coach. "He had strong values, a 'yes sir, no sir' attitude and good family backing.
"He was so vicious on the field, I expected him to be rough and unrefined off it. George was too gracious an individual to be such a good football player."
Having graduated from Louisburg in 2006, Howard, a sociology major, sought out several MEAC schools, including Morgan.
"We saw tapes of this kid with a high motor, running around and knocking the crap out of people," Hill-Eley recalled. "I said, 'Let's hurry up and get him.' "
For a year and a half, Howard labored on special teams, awaiting his chance while harnessing his energy for the game.
"I knew George would grow into a big-time player for us," Hill-Eley said.
The wait was hard, Howard said, but worth it.
"See this?" he said, raising his shirt sleeve to reveal the tattoo on his right forearm - a football with red flames billowing from the back.
The tattoo's significance, he said, is plain to see:
"This is what I love to do. I've got a passion for football."
MORGAN STATE @DELAWARE STATE
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