The college football world suffered a heartbreaking loss over the weekend after the passing of Gerald Howse, a 28-year-old assistant coach for Tennessee Tech University.
Howse emerged as a star running back at Siegel High School in Tennessee, then went on to play college football at Northeast Oklahoma A&M and Georgia State. After his playing days came to an end, Howse became the running backs coach at Northwestern State in 2019, per The Tennessean.
He quickly climbed up the coaching ranks, landing a gig at Tennessee State in January. Howse became the team’s running backs coach and served as an assistant special teams coordinator, helping many of the program’s young players in the spring.
“Gerald was a first-class young man,” Tennessee Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander said, via The Tennessean. “He was highly thought of by so many people. His coaches at Siegel High School — Greg Wyant and David Watson — always brought him up whenever we had positions come open. He displayed a very positive attitude. He was a man of character who lived out faith, family and football.”
The 28-year-old worked with the team during practices in March and quickly made his impact before the COVID-19 pandemic forced practices to be suspended.
Howse was found deceased at his home over the weekend; a cause of death has not been disclosed.
Our condolences go out towards Howse’s family, friends and the Tennessee Tech community during this difficult time.