It’s still “he said, she said” in the recent altercation between two former ISU football players.

Aaron Howard, who accused former teammate and roommate Justin Eilers of hitting him once in the mouth on June 13, was not available for comment Monday, but his mother, Jamie Howard, said that this wasn’t the first time she had heard of friction between her son and Eilers.

She said her son first told her of an attitude change in Eilers in May.

“Aaron had been noticing a behavior change in Justin,” she said. “A week prior to the incident, we had suggested to Aaron that he stay away from the apartment and stay at a friend’s house.”

Jamie Howard also said her husband told Aaron not to fight back if Eilers, one of last year’s starting linebackers, became physical with him, but to go directly to the police instead.

“He just hit him once, and that’s exactly what Aaron did under the instruction of his father,” Howard said. “Basically, the change had been occuring. Maybe Aaron should have been proactive earlier, but we support him 100 percent.”

She also said that Eilers was evicted and the locks for the apartment at 1525 Little Blue Stem Court were changed on the day of the incident between her son and Eilers.

“There were some safety issues there,” she said.

Both Eilers and Howard are currently listed at different addresses.

Attempts to reach Eilers and his both of his parents for comment were unsuccessful.

Eilers’ sister-in-law, who resides in Nampa, Idaho, had no comment on the incident.

Eilers’ girlfriend, Kim Puhrman, also declined to comment on the issue.

“I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing that,” she said.

According to Aaron Howard’s statement to the Iowa State Department of Public Safety on the day of the incident, Howard said Eilers “appeared to become frustrated” while the two talked at the General Services Building, their place of work.

He said that Eilers later hit him in the mouth and urged Howard to fight back, using racial epithets.

Howard said he felt his “life would be in jeopardy” if he would have returned to their apartment when Eilers was there, and decided to report the altercation to the police.

He said that Eilers had pushed him around and threatened him in the past.

Also in the statement, Howard accused Eilers of taking steroids and said he has seen Eilers “beat up his girlfriend Kim several times.”

Upon a subsequent investigation of their apartment, police seized several things from the living room and Eilers’ room, according to the search warrant.

According an interview with the Des Moines Register Friday, Eilers said “99 percent of the stuff . was made up by Aaron.”

When asked if there was any reason Aaron would lie about something of this nature, Jamie Howard had no comment.

DPS Captain Gene Deisinger said the seized items were at the state crime lab Monday, but didn’t know when the results would be known.

“We don’t know anything more than what we knew yesterday,” Deisinger said.

“I don’t have any estimates [when state crime lab results will be back.]” he said. “They take care of those in the order in which they receive them.”

Eilers was second on the team in tackles last season with 94.

Howard was a former walk-on who quit the team this spring.