Desmond Howard, teaming with Modelo to celebrate iconic punt return, talks Jim Harbaugh and Michigan Football

We caught up with Michigan football great Desmond Howard to talk about the celebration of his iconic punt return with Modelo, as well as Jim Harbaugh and the CFB Playoff. 

Desmond Howard’s punt return for a touchdown against Ohio State back in 1991 was one of the most iconic moments in Michigan football history.

Not only did it help win “The Game” against Ohio State but it also clinched the Heisman Trophy for Howard. A punt return also proved vital in the Heisman Trophy campaign of Charles Woodson and knowing as he does, how important a punt return for a touchdown can be, it’s no wonder that Howard has teamed up with Modelo for a College Football Playoff National Championship Sweepstakes Honoring the 30th Anniversary of his return against the Buckeyes.

Howard, who covers college football for ESPN’s College Gameday, will be in Indianapolis and so will Modelo as the official beer of the College Football Playoff.

Modelo and Howard are celebrating game-changing plays that “demonstrate the fighting spirit of college football” and in honor of Howard’s legendary 93-yard punt return for a touchdown which exemplifies that spirit, Modelo is set to award fans free beer for a year.

If there is a punt return for a touchdown on Monday, January 10, Modelo will reward 300 college football fans with free beer for the entire 2022 college football season (Awarded in the form of a $108 gift card).

And since there has yet to be a punt returned for a touchdown in the national title game during the playoff era, Monday would be a perfect time.

“It would be very exciting,” Howard said Wednesday. “You are looking at two teams that seem evenly matched and I say that because anytime you have a punt return or a non-offensive touchdown in a game of this magnitude, it turns out to be the gamechanger.”

It would also be a gamechanger for any college football fan who entered the contest and won free beer for a year, which admittedly, sounds pretty awesome.

“Modelo wants to celebrate the college football fans fighting experience,” Howard said. “And because it’s the 30th anniversary of the punt return, Modelo is going to give 300 fans free beer for the 2022 season if there is a punt return for a touchdown, and even if not, Modelo is giving away two tickets to the national championship game in LA (2023) so it’s a hell of a sweepstakes.”

To enter, fans simply need to tweet @ModeloUSA using #CFPFightingSpiritSweepstakes and #21+ for a chance to win both prizes. You can enter from Monday 1/3 to Gameday Monday 1/10 at Midnight EST.

Modelo will also be hosting festivities in the days leading up to the College Football national championship game including the Modelo’s Fan Bus at Playoff Fan Central at the Indiana Convention Center and three days of concerts at Monument Circle, where fans can enjoy Modelo as well as receive custom printed Modelo gear.

Desmond Howard doesn’t buy Jim Harbaugh leaving

While Howard was doing media rounds to promote his work with Modelo and the celebration of his punt return, we also took the time to ask him a few questions about Michigan football, including his take on the rumors about Jim Harbaugh to the NFL.

“I think you can set your clock to it,” Howard said. “We see these reports every year about Jim Harbaugh. First, it was that they had a bad season and he wanted to get back to the NFL. Now, he’s AP Coach of the Year and it’s ‘Hey Jim Harbaugh wants to go to the NFL.’ He’s damned if he does and he’s damned if he doesn’t. But I think he’s going to coach next season, 2022, in Ann Arbor.”

On finally seeing Michigan football make the College Football Playoff

“I’ll tell you what, it really made my job (College Gameday) much easier. It really did,” Howard said. “There were some long days sitting up there after Michigan lost this game or that game. People like to keep talking about it. There are a bunch of teams that lose games, but when Michigan takes an L we have to question everything. So to see them on the other side of that was refreshing. It was good. It was great for college football in general. A lot of people I talk to like Kirk Herbstreit believe It’s great for college football when the traditional blue bloods of the sport are doing well and I couldn’t agree more. It was also great for college football as a whole to have different teams in the playoff.”

What Michigan football has to do to win a national championship

The Wolverines won the Big Ten, went 12-2, and beat Ohio State. But how does Michigan football take the next step? We asked Howard that too.

“Michigan was playing with house money at that point (Orange Bowl),” Howard said. “This team was ahead of schedule. It was picked to finish fourth in the division. Not the Big Ten conference, but the division. And they end up having a magnificent season, winning the Big Ten and going to the College Football Playoff. So I thought they were playing with house money and are at least a year ahead of schedule. When you look at the young talent that they have, and the young coaching staff that they have to develop that talent, I think Michigan fans have a lot to be positive about.”

What was it like reliving your punt return on Gameday?

“I had a chance to experience the whole weekend (Ohio State game) with one of my twin boys and that made it even more special for me,” Howard said. “It was a great weekend from beginning to end. I couldn’t have scripted it any better. It was fantastic.”

You have returned a punt for a score in The Game and a kickoff for a touchdown in the Super Bowl, do you have a favorite of those plays?

“I’ll put it like this, I’ve got twin boys and it’s like trying to choose the one you love the most,” Howard said. “You love them equally. The punt return against Ohio State…It was such an iconic play and such an iconic moment. But then the kickoff return against the Patriots in the Super Bowl — that’s as big as it gets in the sport. It gets no bigger than that. So when you put each one in context, you love them equally especially based on when they happened, where and how they happened.”

Michigan football fans will always love one more than the other. So thanks again Desmond, for all the memories and maybe, for some free beer.