Colorado adds Florida safety Samari Howard to the 2027 class, reports Rivals

Colorado is adding another piece to its recruiting rebuild with a commitment from safety Samari Howard, according to Rivals recruiting insider Hayes Fawcett. The report says Howard pledged to the Buffaloes after an official visit to Boulder, then returned to Florida with Colorado “locked in” as his destination.

Howard is a Fort Lauderdale prospect from St. Thomas Aquinas, a program known for producing high-level Division I talent. On3 lists him as a 2027 safety prospect, standing about 5-foot-11 and weighing about 168 pounds, which fits the typical physical profile Colorado has targeted when building a young secondary.

The commitment also comes with a measurable recruiting resume. Yahoo Sports, citing the Rivals Industry Ranking, ranked Howard as the No. 75 safety in the 2027 cycle and the No. 708 overall prospect, while also placing him as the No. 69 recruit in Florida.

Colorado’s interest in Howard did not play out in a vacuum. Yahoo reported that Indiana and West Virginia were among the other programs pushing for his commitment, making this more than just a one-school recruitment story. With an official visit already completed, the pledge suggests Colorado was able to translate the trip into a recruiting win during the critical late stage of the process.

For Colorado, this is part of a broader recruiting theme. The same report says Howard is the fourth prospect from Florida to choose the Buffaloes so far this cycle, underscoring how Sanders’ staff continues to treat the state as a strategic pipeline. Even as programs across college football compete for prospects in the transfer era, Colorado’s approach here is still about stockpiling recruits who can be developed into contributors over the next few seasons.

From a roster-building standpoint, adding a safety like Howard matters because the position group is usually asked to cover a wide range of assignments, from pass coverage and run support to helping coordinate the back end on the fly. While it is too early to project his immediate role, commitments like this typically give a coaching staff more flexibility in building defensive depth and packages for the coming seasons.

What to watch next is whether Colorado follows this commitment with additional defensive backfield targets as the 2027 class continues to take shape. For Howard, the next step will be development at the high school level and staying engaged through future recruiting windows, especially as other programs continue to test the boundaries of late commitments.