Howard accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois, where he became a four-year starter. After being redshirted because the team had starter Darrick Brownlow at middle linebacker, in his freshman season he posted 134 tackles (conference record) and 4 sacks. He made a career-high 24 total tackles and a school record 20 solo tackles against Ohio State University. He had 23 tackles against the University of Michigan.
As a junior, he had 123 tackles and 4 passes defensed. He made 17 tackles against the University of Minnesota.
As a senior in 1994, he recorded career-highs in tackles (141), tackles for loss (9), fumble recoveries (4) and interceptions (2), while also making 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He tallied 18 tackles against Purdue University and the University of Michigan. He was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American that season, becoming the first Illini player to win the Dick Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Award, both presented annually to the best linebacker in college football.
He was the first player in school history to register at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons, to lead the team in tackles for four straight years and he also finished as the all-time leading tackler in school and conference history with 595.
In 2017, he was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.[2] In 2018, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame.[3]
Professional career
Dallas Cowboys
Howard was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (168th overall) of the 1995 NFL draft, after dropping because of size concerns.[4][5] He was waived on August 27.
St. Louis Rams
On August 28, 1995, he was signed by the St. Louis Rams. He played in 16 games as a rookie. He was released on August 20, 1996.[6]
Chicago Bears
On November 6, 1996, he signed with the Chicago Bears,[7] playing in three games before breaking a finger and being placed on the injured reserve list.[8] He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.