"That's exactly what I am. I am a monster! That's what I am!"
- Vince Howard, Laboring
With his mom on drugs and his dad in prison, Vince Howard was on his own and out of options. The one thing Vince had going for him is he can run. Fast. After getting picked up by the cops yet again, Vince is offered a choice: football or jail. With Coach Eric Taylor's guidance, Vince is on the road to a second chance that could be the biggest opportunity of his life.On the Injury List, his friend Calvin was shot and killed.
Vince starts off as the running back for East Dillion. He is the one bright spot in an otherwise talentless East Dillon team. Luke Cafferty joins the team after he is discovered to be zoned for East Dillon. Luke shares backfield duties with him, but the two don't get along. Luke's wallet goes missing, which leads to numerous altercations between the two, one of which gets them arrested. Vince nearly goes to juvy, but Taylor convinces Luke to take the blame. The two reconcile and Vince gives Luke his wallet back. During a game, the Lions play Wildcat and Coach Taylor sees his throwing arm and makes him Quarterback. Off the field, he has to deal with his Mom's drug addiction. He puts her in rehab after another OD, and has to pay off the debt which he got from Calvin and gang. He refuses to do the dirty work and the gangster nearly kills him but decides that he's not worth it. He helps lead the Lions to a great victory over West Dillon, the biggest upset of the year.
In Season 5, Vince starts off being shown to date Jess, after Jess realizes he's changed. He convinces Hastings Ruckle to be on the team. As the year progresses, he gets interest from colleges. At the same time, his dad comes home from prison for the first time in 5 years. His dad helps him with the college recruiting, which feeds into his ego, alienates his teamates, and gets him benched. He realizes that he is not bigger than the team and needs to work to get his position back, not commiting to a college. This leads to tension between him and his father, but he earns his position back. He helps the Lions win State, throwing a 63 yard "Hail Mary" to win the game. Eight months later, he is shown quarterbacking for the Dillon Panthers "super team" in his final year of High School.