Junior Quarterback Tygue Howland has spent his first three years making the most of the university experience offered to him by his skill on the football field.

Even though things haven’t gone quite the way he’d have liked on the field, the Sedro-Woolley, WA product just completed his best year academically, on track to earn a 3.7 average for the year to add to the 3.3 or 3.4 he is carrying overall.

That’s not to say that things have all gone wrong on the field either. It’s just that he was injured in the first game of the season during his red-shirt freshman and sophomore years, so 2008 really was his first to see much action.

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“Altogether this won’t be my greatest year on the field, but I learned a lot. Practically speaking, it was my first year, so I learned a lot about what it takes to be ready for each game, what it takes to prepare for a game and do everything it takes to win,” said Howland.

A Business Management major, he might add marketing as a double major if he decides to seek an extra year…and, Howland is looking at a community development minor, which involves urban planning and health issues. Portland is nationally knows for its urban planning and Howland said it’s a great place to learn about those areas.

Offensive Coordinator Mouse Davis isn’t surprised at Howland’s classroom success. “He’s a great kid, very bright and he’ll be a success at whatever he does,” said Davis, who agreed that lack of game experience has set back Howland’s career on the field.

“Tygue has been hurt and he hasn’t had much opportunity for game experience. He throws extremely well and got more opportunity to play with 11 guys last year. Scrimmaging with seven guys just isn’t the same. Last year was like his freshman season because of the situation and the only way you get better is to get more experience,” he said.

Besides his “career best” grades, the highlight of Howland’s year was “just getting to play. And, it was particularly fun that I got to play against Washington State because that was the team I grew up rooting for…and it was fun to beat Eastern Washington in PGE Park and see the fans’ excitement when we win.”

His biggest joy, he said, “is being in PGE Park and seeing the fans supporting us.”

While he feels he’s been on a maturing curve since entering PSU, there were some personal achievement highlights this year.

He’s found his upper division classes more interesting and “I’m more mature as an individual now. I know what I need to do to be a good student. I’ve developed the discipline to balance football and academics”…and some other activities, too.

For the last two years, Howland has been a Student Ambassador, showing potential students and others around the campus, working alongside non-athlete students.

“I’m working with French majors and people from the Middle East who don’t even know that we have a football program. They’re really good students and I’ve learned a lot from these people. I’m really enjoying the diversity on this campus,” he said. Next year, Howland will be a co-coordinator of the Student Ambassador program.

Over the summer, Howland plans to stay in Portland (with weekends home in Sedro-Woolley) to work with the program’s new receivers…and he’d like to find an internship relating to his major.

He sees his team on an upward track next year and thinks the Vikings could win a lot of games. “We have eight home games next year, well, really six, but Corvallis (Oregon State) and Seattle (Eastern Washington) aren’t that far away.”

Whatever the future holds for Howland on the field, it would appear that he has grasped the opportunities offered by his college experience with both hands and will only be letting go when he’s ready.

By Portland State University Media Relations