CBS News is reporting that a Hartford lawyer, Deron Freeman, has said that his client will be arrested in connection with the fight that took University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard’s life Sunday.

Freeman did not identify his client to CBS, but did state that he was not the one responsible for stabbing Howard. According to CBS, police had searched the client’s room, removed a few items, and informed Freeman that an arrest was forthcoming.

Howard, 20, a cornerback on the University of Connecticut football team, stabbed to death Sunday after a dance on campus sponsored by the university’s West Indian Awareness Organization. The incident took reportedly took place during a fight after a fire alarm was pulled at the Student Union just after 12:30 a.m. The fight included both UConn students and non-students, and quickly escalated.

Meanwhile, the grief-stricken University of Connecticut campus honored football player Howard with a day of silence Tuesday. The university’s Black Student Association has asked fellow students to wear dark clothes to demonstrate campus unity in mourning the loss of Howard.

There will also be a candlelight vigil held on Wednesday and his teammates will wear Howard’s initials on their helmets for their away game against West Virginia Saturday. Additionally, the University posted memorials of Howard that were made on campus on its Web site.

Police have yet to identity a suspect. One person, Johnny Hood, 21, of Hartford was arrested earlier in the investigation and on charges on interfering with a police officer and breach of peace Monday.

Howard’s death is the first homicide in the history of the university in the last 30 years. News of his death hit his fellow teammates hard. Coach Randy Edsall said the team was devastated and heartbroken, saying that Howard “loved UConn; he loved his teammates; he loved everything about this.”

Police have aggressively been interviewing people who may have been one of the 300 to see the altercation and could possibly have any information. According to a statement made on the University’s Web site police believe that the stabbing was not random, but that the campus as a whole is not at risk.

Howard’s death has affected many lives, including former teammates. Clemson cornerback Chris Chancellor, who was on the Miami Edison Senior High team with Howard in 2003 and 2004, will wear Howard’s number 6 instead of his usual number 38 on Saturday when Clemson takes on Miami.

About Howard, Edsall said, he was a “tremendous young man who had grown so much in his short time with us at UConn. He was starting to come into his own as both a player and a person. He will be sorely missed but we will have him in our memories.”

Our Take

It is a true tragedy, but the University of Connecticut has made it a point to unite and support each other through this difficult time. Jasper Howard will never be forgotten; instead, he will always be remembered for the footprint he left in this lifetime.