Missouri football lands Ladue defensive end prospect Nate Howard

Missouri flipped a high-profile in-state recruit on Friday when Nate Howard, who had committed to Wisconsin, announced on St. Louis TV station KSDK that he had changed his commitment to the Tigers.

Howard is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defensive end at Ladue Horton Watkins in suburban St. Louis. He is a three-star Rivals prospect, who is ranked 10th in Missouri and 39th nationally at his position.

Howard had 86 tackles and 10 sacks last season for the Rams, who finished 13-2 and lost to Battle High School in the Missouri Class 5 semifinals.

Howard originally committed to the Badgers last summer, but he took official visits to Indiana and Illinois in December then visited Syracuse and Missouri during the last two weeks.

Coach Gary Anderson left Wisconsin for Oregon State after the season.

He was recruited by Tigers cornerbacks coach Cornell Ford, who works the St. Louis area, and defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski, who announced Monday that he was staying at MU despite overtures from Illinois.

Howard plays with a high-motor rushing off the edge and is relentless in pursuit. His highlight reel also showed receiving skills.

Howard becomes the 22nd known commitment in Missouri’s 2015 recruiting class and the fifth from St. Louis. He is the third defensive end, joining two other three-star prospects — Marcell Frazier from College of the Siskiyous in Weed, Calif., and Tyrell Jacobs from Rummel High School in Metairie, La.

This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Missouri football lands Ladue defensive end prospect Nate Howard."