When Justin Howell begins a new chapter in his football career this fall for the Carleton Ravens, he said it will spell the end of a long injury layoff.
“I’m really excited to play for Carleton. They have a great athletics tradition and I’m glad I can be a part of it,” Howell said.
The Bradford, Ont. native said he dislocated his scaphoid bone in his wrist, which forced him to miss his entire senior season of high school football at Vanier College in Montréal.
“I had wrist surgery and I was in a cast with some metal pins in there for about five months,” he said. “I was actually just camping. I fell on my wrist and it was a freak accident, so it happening before the season made it worse.”
In order to ensure he returns to the field in time for the Ravens’ training camp in August, Howell said he moved to Ottawa to continue rehabbing his injury and train with his future teammates as soon as possible.
“I wanted to be around the coaches and the players. By being around the team, I wanted to get those reps in and shake off any rust,” he said.
Howell said he would not be preparing for a Canadian Interuniversity Sport football career if not for Geoff Ball, the Bradford District High School football coach who encouraged Howell to try out for the school’s football team when he was in Grade 10.
Howell said he knew he found a home on the football field after he started taking it more seriously in high school, and said he’s excited to find a new home in Carleton as he takes the next step to university.
“I just want to learn as much as I can on the football field and improve off of it in the weight room and the classroom as well,” he said.
Howell said the team’s youth is an important reason why he chose Carleton.
He said because most players on the team are in their first and second years, they have built a strong camaraderie in the locker room.
“They embraced me right away and the atmosphere in there is great,” he said. “The fact that everyone came in together and the guys that are coming in for 2014 will be around the same age definitely helps because all of us relate to each other very well.”
Howell said another factor in his decision to play for the Ravens is because he has a chance to make history as being a part of the first Ravens football win since 1998 after the team had a winless 0-8 season in 2013 in its first year back in 15 years.
Although Howell said it would be an honour to be a part of that historic first Ravens win, he said his ultimate goal during his time at Carleton is something much higher.
“I want to help build a program and really put Carleton football on the map,” he said. “We’re young and we want to keep growing to hopefully one day win a championship here.”
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