Bye Bye Bearcats Seniors: #3 Howard Wilder
By Chris Bains
Our farewell tour through the seniors on Cincinnati’s roster continues with starting cornerback Howard Wilder. In case you missed the Jeff Luc post that kicked off this series, much in the same way he kicked around running backs last season (see what I did there?!), here it is.
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But back to Wilder, who joined UC from Pierce College and was tasked at replacing grizzled veteran Camerron Cheatham in 2013. The junior won the starting job from Trenier Orr and Leviticus Payne and performed well while lining up opposite Deven Drane his first year on campus. Wilder notched 35 tackles that season, the ninth most on the team, and added a pair of interceptions (T-2nd).
However it was his senior year where he really shined.
Playing in an embattled Bearcats secondary without Drane who was gone to graduation and fellow senior Adrian Witty who was lost for most of the year with an injury, Wilder established himself as Cincinnati’s best cornerback. While younger players such as Grant Coleman got lost in coverage on occasion, the senior was the mark of consistency.
Wilder tallied 47 tackles this past season and 2.5 behind the line of scrimmage, the most of any cornerback. He was also the team leader in interceptions until Zach Edwards matched his mark in the Military Bowl.
Going into the 2015 season, the Bearcats might find that they’ll miss Howard Wilder lining up across from the opponent’s best wide receiver. He played a major role this past year keeping the secondary that relied on inexperienced defensive backs to shoulder the load as starters simply from collapsing in on itself. Unfortunately this position group could be in the same situation next season as Adrian Witty’s health and eligibility status is still up in the air. Plus, it’s anyone’s guess just how Grant Coleman and Linden Stephens will develop this offseason or if J.J. Pinckney will live up to the hype.
Wilder didn’t get a whole lot of accolades this past year, despite solid production at cornerback, but I don’t think many UC fans will understand what he brought to this team until he’s gone.