Chris Howard (American football)
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| College: | Michigan |
| Position: | running back |
| NFL draft: | 1998 / round: 5 / pick: 153 |
| Career history | |
| Jacksonville Jaguars (1998-2000) | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| NCAA Division I National Champion team Hula Bowl MVP | |
Christopher L. "Chris" Howard (May 5, 1975 in Template:City-state) is a retired professional American football running back who played in the National Football League for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Howard had been drafted by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft. His professional football career was haunted by fumble troubles, which caused the Broncos to release him before he played a regular season game for them. When the Jaguars acquired him his troubles resurfaced as soon as he rose to a role as a regular player.
He had previously played for the Michigan Wolverines football team where in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, his final year at Michigan, they won a National Championship. Howard led the National Champion 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team in rushing and was a Hula Bowl MVP in 1998. Chris attended John Curtis High School in Template:City-state.
College
In four years at Michigan from 1994 to 1997, he totaled 1876 yards rushing on 418 carries and added 429 yards receiving on 60 receptions. He totaled nine 100-yard rushing efforts for Michigan including four during the 1997 championship season.[1] In college, his biggest rushing effort was 127 yards against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 1996.[2] He also once rushed for 109 yards and 4 touchdowns against the UCLA Bruins.[3] Howard also posted the fourth longest rush in school history, an 86-yard rush.[4]
In 1996, he had had 5 100-yard games despite only playing in ten games as a junior. He totaled 725 yards rushing and ten touchdowns in the ten games. However, he was second on the team in rushing to sophomore Clarence Williams who tallied 837 yards in 12 games.[1]
In the 1997 championship season, he was the rushing leader for a fundamentally sound undefeated 12–0 Michigan team that did not have a 1000-yard rusher or 500-yard receiver. The team emphasized defense behind 1997 Heisman Trophy winning defensive back Charles Woodson. Howard totaled 938 yards rushing on 199 carries and 276 yards receiving on 37 receptions. He was second on the team in scoring to placekicker Kraig Baker with 7 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving touchdown. He was complemented in the backfield by freshman Anthony Thomas who added 549 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns.[1]
One of the key games in Michigan's 1997 National Championship season was the game against the unbeaten Penn State Nittany Lions, then ranked Number 2 in the nation. Howard rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Nittany Lions, prompting Coach Lloyd Carr to comment: "I think that Chris Howard is a very underrated back. He proved that today."[5] Michigan controlled the game and led 34–0 after 3 quarters behind Howard’s best collegiate performance from scrimmage with 120 yards rushing and 41 yards receiving.[6]
The 1997 season concluded with a 21–16 win over Washington State in the Rose Bowl on January 11998. Howard led all rushers in the game with 70 yards rushing on 19 carries.[7]
He was also the 1998 Hula Bowl MVP for the North. He rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries and was involved in the culminating score in the North’s second half comeback. He handed off to Joe Jurevicius on a reverse play which ended with Jurevicius passing to Brian Griese for a five yard touchdown pass. The North would lose, however, when the missed extra point left the door open for a game winning field goal.[8]
Professional career
Howard was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fifth round of the 1998 NFL Draft, but he had a difficult pre-season with the Broncos in 1998, fumbling five times in two games."[9] The Broncos released him from their practice squad in September 1998, and he was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. At the time, Jacksonville Coach Tom Coughlin said: "Chris Howard is a young man and he certainly still is developmental. A couple weeks into our system and I think he'll be a guy who can be counted on. But I'm not going to say we're done with our evaluations just yet."[9] Coughlin said of Howard's fumbles with Denver: "It was carelessness. Basically, we'll start from scratch with him fundamentally here."[9] Howard had modest professional totals of 123 yards rushing on 41 carries and 37 yards receiving on five receptions. In 2000, his final year, he fumbled twice on only 21 carries in the first two games.[10] He never appeared in another NFL game.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Versus Minnesota October 26, 1996". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Versus UCLA September 28, 1996". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Michigan Football Statistic Archive Query Page". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-11-30.
- ^ Krebs, Andrew (1997-11-10). "The defense rests: Michigan overturns Lions, 34-8". Collegian, Inc. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Versus Penn State November 8, 1997". Regents of the University of Michigan. 2003. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "Rose Bowl". infoplease.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
- ^ "COLLEGES: FOOTBALL; South Wins Hula Bowl". The New York Times Company. 1998-01-19. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b c Pells, Eddie (1998=09-23). "Stewart goes on IR; Howard takes his spot". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "All-Time Players: Chris Howard". NFL Enterprises LLC. 2007.