Texas Tech University Athletics
2020 Football Roster
Roster
Eli Howard
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-4
- Weight:
- 280
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- San Angelo, Texas
- High School:
- Central
2020 SEAS0N (SENIOR)
Limited to only six games in his final season as a Red Raider โฆ continued to be a strong presence on the defensive line until injuries cut his season short โฆ still managed to leave his name in the Texas Tech almanac as one of the top pass rushers โฆ elected as one of three seniors to the captains circle, marking his second time to be selected ... totaled 16 tackles on the season, which included 3.0 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks โฆ added three quarterback hurries, a pass breakup and a blocked kick โฆ recorded at least two tackles in five of six games with the lone exception being against Oklahoma where he departed early in the first half โฆ at least shared a tackle for a loss in four games as with the exceptions being at Kansas State and Oklahoma โฆ IN TEXAS TECH RECORD BOOK: closed his tenure ranked ninth all-time in program history with 16.5 sacks โฆ passed both Brandon Sharpe (2008-09) and Pete Robertson (2011-14) for his place in Texas Tech history โฆ officially joined the top 10 with his sack against Texas โฆ SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: began the year with two tackles, a shared sack, a quarterback hurry and a pass breakup in the win over Houston Baptist (9/12) โฆ followed with a sack that moved him into the top 10 in school history against Texas (9/26) โฆ sack came on a key third down midway through the fourth quarter that forced a Texas punt โฆ was one of four tackles in the overtime loss, which marked a season high โฆ had four tackles in each of the next two games at Kansas State (10/3) and at Iowa State (10/10) โฆ final sack of the year came in the victory over West Virginia (10/24) โฆ was another fourth-quarter sack that pushed the Mountaineers back five yards โฆ had a quarterback hurry versus West Virginia as well as the following week against Oklahoma (10/31) โฆ missed the final four games of the season due to injury โฆ AWARDS AND HONORS: garnered honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades by the conference coaches โฆ marked the fourth All-Big 12 recognition of his career โฆ Academic All-Big 12 first team honoree for a third-consecutive year โฆ actually entered his final season with his bachelor and masterโs degree already in hand โฆ selected to participate in a virtual experience through the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl โฆ traveled to Fort Worth to take part in the College Gridiron Showcase and Symposium.
2019 SEASON (JUNIOR)
Started all 12 games on the defensive line for the first time in his career โฆ will enter his 2020 senior season with 30 career starts and 22-consecutive starts, the longest active streak among returners โฆ elected to the team captains circle as one of five junior representatives โฆ finished the season with 21 tackles (14 solo), including 6.0 that went for a loss โฆ led the team with 5.0 sacks and ranked second with seven quarterback hurries and tied for third in tackles for a loss โฆ found the quarterback by himself four times on the year and shared the sack on the two other occasions โฆ each of his sacks came during Big 12 play โฆ also added two pass breakups and a fumble recovery โฆ IN BIG 12 RANKINGS: ended the year ranked ninth in the league for sacks per game (0.42) โฆ was tied for fourth for sacks during Big 12 play (5.0) โฆ SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: began the year with one tackle against Montana State (8/31) โฆ performed well against UTEP (9/7), posting three tackles (two solo) and two quarterback hurries โฆ collected his first sack of the season at Oklahoma (9/28), marking the 10th of his career ... sack was part of three tackles, including two for a loss โฆ his 2.0 tackles for a loss matched his career high that was originally set during his 2017 redshirt freshman campaign โฆ followed with a season-high four tackles the next week in a win over Oklahoma State (10/5) โฆ shared a sack with Jaylon Hutchings that caused Oklahoma State quarterback Spencer Sanders to fumble, giving the Red Raiders great field possession to start their first drive (forced fumble was credited to Hutchings) โฆย recorded another key sack a week later at Baylor (10/12) after knocking Charlie Brewer to the ground at the Bearsโ own 1 yard line with less than two minutes remaining in regulation โฆ had two tackles versus the Bears, the same total he also notched at both West Virginia (11/9) and Texas (11/29) โฆ posted three tackles during that span at Kansas (10/26) as well, which featured a 10-yard sack early in the fourth quarter โฆ had another sack in win over he Mountaineers as well as a shared sack at Texas โฆ recovered a key fumble late in the first quarter against West Virginia to give the Red Raiders the ball back to eventually score and take a 28-3 lead โฆ AWARDS AND HONORS: garnered All-Big 12 second team honors by the conference coaches โฆ became first Red Raider defensive lineman to be named to the first or second team since Kerry Hyder also collected second-team accolades in 2013 โฆ earned Academic All-Big 12 first team honors for the second-straight season.
2018 SEASON (SOPHOMORE)
Continued to shine in his second year in his second year as a starter โฆ appeared in all 12 games, while starting in 11 from his defensive end spot โฆ totaled 37 tackles on the year, four of which that went for a loss โฆ ranked second among defensive linemen in tackles โฆ posted 3.5 sacks overall, which ranked third on the team โฆ added a team-leading nine quarterback hurries to go along with two pass breakups and one fumble recovery โฆ recorded at least two tackles in all but one game ... SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: began the year with two tackles against Ole Miss (9/1) in Houston โฆ also recovered a fumble near midfield late in the third quarter โฆ racked up four tackles, one sack and a career-high two quarterback hurries in a blowout win against Lamar (9/8) โฆ had another three tackles and a quarterback hurry at home against Houston (9/15) โฆ opened Big 12 play by matching his career high with four tackles, while setting a new career mark with 1.5 sacks in road victory over Oklahoma State (9/22), the Red Raidersโ first since the 2001 campaign โฆ solo sack came on the final play of the first half, preventing the Cowboys from a extending their drive near midfield โฆ followed with 1.5 sacks against West Virginia (9/29) the next week to go along with three tackles โฆ had two tackles and a quarterback hurry in Thursday night road win at TCU (10/11) โฆ applied pressure to the quarterback twice and batted two balls down against Kansas (10/20) โฆ two pass breakups matched his career high from 2017 โฆ notched two tackles at Iowa State (10/27) โฆ had four tackles at home against Oklahoma (11/3) โฆ snapped his career high with six tackles and a quarterback hurry against Texas (11/10) โฆ rounded out the season with four tackles at Kansas State (11/17) and then three tackles and a quarterback hurry against Baylor (11/24) in Arlington โฆ AWARDS AND HONORS: honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the conference coaches โฆ Academic All-Big 12 first team selection.
2017 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN)
Became a force on the defensive line as just a redshirt freshman โฆ appeared in all 13 games while making seven starts โฆ each of starts came over the final seven games of the season โฆ was the team leader with 8.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks โฆ ended the year with 27 tackles overall (20 solo) โฆ was second on the team with six quarterback hurries โฆ able to get his arms up to deflect three passes on the year โฆ contributed to Texas Techโs rise in turnovers with three forced fumbles, second-most on the team โฆ IN BIG 12 RANKINGS: ended the year tied for second overall with three forced fumbles โฆ ranked eighth in total sacks and ninth for sacks per game (0.42) โฆ was 20th in both tackles for loss and tackles for a loss per game (0.65) โฆ during conference play, ranked tied for fifth with four sacks and tied for seventh with two forced fumbles โฆ SEASON HIGHLIGHTS โฆ began his Red Raider career with a tackle in the season opener versus Eastern Washington (9/2) โฆ followed two weeks later with a season-high four tackles against Arizona State (9/16) โฆ combined for his first career sack in the win over the Sun Devils as well โฆ the Arizona State game was the first of seven-straight weeks with at least one tackle for a loss โฆ matched his season high for tackles the following week at Houston (9/23) as well as against West Virginia (10/14) and Kansas State (11/4) โฆ dropped Houston quarterback Kyle Allen for a sack that ultimately led to a forced fumble, one of five turnovers caused by the Red Raiders in the win โฆ had a season-high two tackles for a loss in the win over Houston โฆ opened Big 12 play with another sack against Oklahoma State (9/30) to go along with a quarterback hurry and two tackles โฆ forced another fumble at Kansas, while also breaking up a pass and making a tackle for a loss โฆ made a key deflection on a pass in the second half that led to a Justus Parker interception โฆ had two tackles in back-to-back games against Iowa State (10/21) and at Oklahoma (10/28) โฆ recorded a season-high two quarterback hurries versus the Cyclones โฆ broke up a season-high two passes against Kansas State to go along with his four tackles โฆ recorded his final sack of the season against TCU (11/24), which resulted in a 10-yard loss โฆ also recovered a key fumble recovery early in the second half versus the Horned Frogs โฆ notched one tackle and had two quarterback hurries in the Birmingham Bowl against USF โฆ AWARDS AND HONORS โฆ honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the conference coaches.
2016 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN)
Sat out entire season after transferring to Texas Tech ... recognized by coaches as one of the top members of the scout team ... awarded an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA due to the nature of his transfer.ย
2015 SEASON (FRESHMAN AT NORTH TEXAS)
Redshirt season ... attended North Texas in the fall before transferring to Texas Tech in time for 2016 spring practices.
HIGH SCHOOL
Attended Central High School in San Angelo, Texas ... one of the best defensive lineman in West Texas a senior ... totaled 61 tackles that year, including 11 that went for a loss ... recorded six sacks, two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and an interception as well ... earned District 3-6A Defensive MVP honors ... was named to the All-West Texas Super Team by the San Angelo Standard-Times ... was a quarterback up until his junior year of high school ... recorded 35 tackles, including five for a loss, while totaling sacks to earn first team All-District 2-5A honors as a junior ... helped lead Central to the regional finals his senior year and the area round his junior season ... High School Coach: Brent Davis.ย
PERSONAL
Eli Howard ... son of Elisha Howard IV and Sabrina Haecker ... older brother of Henry Howard, a former fullback for the Red Raiders ... earned his undergraduate degree in business management from Texas Tech during the August 2018 commencement ceremony ... began graduate degree work with three years of eligibility remaining ... obtained his masters degree in personal financial planning from Texas Tech in May 2020.ย
CAREER HIGHS
Tackles: 6, vs. Texas (2018)
Tackles For Loss: 2.0, twice, at Oklahoma (2019)*
Sacks: 1.5, twice, vs. West Virginia (2018)*
Interceptions: None
Fumbles Forced: 1, three times, vs. TCU (2017)*
Fumbles Recovered: 1, twice, at West Virginia (2019)*
Quarterback Hurries: 2, 4x, vs. Kansas (2018)*
Pass Breakups: 2, twice, vs. Kansas (2018)*
* Indicates most recent high
