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Jersey Number 0
Skyler Gill-Howard
- Position:
- Defensive Line
- Height:
- 6-1
- Weight:
- 290
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Milwaukee, Wis.
- High School:
- Greenfield
CAREER AWARDS & HONORS
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
PERSONAL
- Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week - Sept. 8 (2025, Sr.)
- Shrine Bowl 1000 Preseason (2025, Sr.)
- Phil Steele All-Big 12 Third Team (2025, Sr.)
- All-MAC Third Team Defense (2024, Jr.)
- Pro Football Focus All-MAC Second Team (2024, Jr.)
- MAC Week 7 Co-Defensive Player of the Week (2024, Jr.)
- Burlsworth Trophy Nominee (2024, Jr.)
2025 SEASON (SENIOR)
- Praised for his leadership in his lone season as a Red Raider … was an immediate impact for the Red Raiders out of the transfer portal, starting each of the first six games of the season until suffering an injury that kept him off the field remainder of the season … recovery prohibited from returning from that injury late in the season.
- Recorded 13 tackles overall (9 solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, while also getting in the backfield with six quarterback hurries … had at least one tackle in five of six games, with the lone exception being after suffering an injury versus Kansas (10/11) … notched multiple stops in four of those games and posted a tackle for loss in three different games.
- Among the highest-graded players in all of college football up until his injury … received an 88.6 overall grade by Pro Football Focus, which ranked tied for 35th nationally and third among interior defensive linemen with at least 150 defensive snaps … publication gave him a 90.0 pass-rushing grade, which was third among interior defensive linemen (min. 150 snaps) … credited with 12 pressures by PFF and eight defensive “stops,” which constitute a failure for the offense.
- Made one of the top highlight-worthy plays of the season with a pick-six interception versus Kent State … caught a batted pass by A.J. Holmes Jr. and returned it 55 yards for a touchdown in a viral moment that received more than 3.5 million views on Texas Tech’s X account alone … touchdown pushed Texas Tech’s lead to 38-0 with 8:35 remaining in the second quarter … play was part of a season-high four tackles in the win, which included a tackle for loss … stopped Kent State for a one-yard loss on 3rd-and-17 to force its third-consecutive 3-and-out drive to start the game.
- Previously began the season with two tackles, including a half-sack in the win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8/30) … combined with David Bailey for Texas Tech’s first sack of the season, stuffing UAPB for a three-yard loss on third down to start the game … followed the performance versus Kent State with one tackle and two quarterback hurries in the non-conference finale versus Oregon State (9/13).
- Opened Big 12 play with three tackles in back-to-back wins at Utah (9/20) and at Houston (10/4) … blew up a screen pass for a three-yard loss against the Utes, forcing Utah to punt early in the second quarter for the first of his two key third-down stops in the victory … later knocked down a third-down pass to force another punt in the fourth quarter, giving the Red Raiders the ball back to race down the field and score for a 27-10 lead.
- Official stats awarded him a season-high three quarterback hurries in the win at Houston … one of those hurries forced a quick throw and fourth-down stop midway through the second quarter, giving te Red Raiders great field position near midfield for an eventual field goal and 25-3 lead … PFF credited him with four pressures versus the Cougars, matching his season high from earlier in the year against Oregon State … limited to only five snaps a week later versus Kansas in his final outing of the season.
- AWARDS AND HONORS: named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 following his performance versus Kent State … recognized prior to the season as part of the Shrine Bowl 1,000 list.
- NFL SCOUTING COMBINE: one of a school-record eight Red Raiders to receive an invited to the NFL Scouting Combine … even with the injury, his one year as a Red Raider was significant enough to place him on the NFL radar.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Began collegiate career in 2021 at Division II Upper Iowa before becoming a member of the Northern Illinois football team the next three seasons (2022-24) ... played in four games as a true freshman for the Upper Iowa University Peacocks ... saw action in 25 games, making one start, over the last two seasons at Northern Illinois after not seeing the field of play during first season at NIU.
- Combined for 76 tackles (41 solo) over his two seasons at Northern Illinois, including an impressive 11.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks … considered one of the top prospects in the transfer portal after a stellar junior season … posted 52 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks as a junior alone … has 79 tackles for his career (43 solo) between his time at Northern Illinois and Upper Iowa.
- 2024 SEASON (JUNIOR at NORTHERN ILLINOIS): tabbed a third team All-MAC selection on by the conference coaches ... was named second team All-MAC by Pro Football Focus ... recognized as the MAC Week Seven Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 following a career day at Bowling Green ... was Northern Illinois' Burlsworth Trophy nominee, which is awarded to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on.
- Honored with a "C" patch on his jersey, serving as one of the Huskies' team captains ... played in all 12 regular season games while making one start, which was in the season opener versus Western Illinois (8/31) ... opted out of the Huskies' appearance in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl against Fresno State.
- Finished season with 51 total tackles (27 solo), which led all defensive linemen at NIU ... ranked second on the team in tackles for loss finishing with 8.5 for a net loss of 35 yards ... was third on the team with 5.0 sacks that resulted in a loss of 30 yards ... also credited with four quarterback hurries.
- Credited by Pro Football Focus with 449 defensive snaps, 30 shy of the team high for an interior defensive lineman ... had a team-leading 29 total pressures of the passer (of any kind), as tabulated by PFF ... received an 84.0 overall grade by Pro Football Focus, which ranked 10th in the FBS among interior defensive linemen ... was particularly effective in the run game, grading out at 88.7 overall, which was sixth among interior defensive linemen.
- Posted single-game career highs at Bowling Green (10/12) with 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and seven tackles overall, five of which were solo stops … performance earned him conference player of the week honors (Week 7) ... one of the two sacks versus Bowling Green was on 3rd-and-goal from the NIU 2-yard line in the third quarter, which forced a missed field goal try … one of the other tackles for loss came on third down with Bowling Green at its own 11, forcing the Falcons to punt from its end zone, giving NIU field position in plus territory.
- 2023 SEASON (REDSHIRT SOPHOMORE at NORTHERN ILLINOIS): played in all 12 games in first full season with the Huskies as a back-up at defensive tackle ... finished season with 24 tackles (15 solo), 4.0 tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and a pass break-up ... credited with at least one stop in the each of the final 12 games of the season.
- Recovered a fumble at Nebraska (9/16) to go with a pair of stops ... recorded his first career sack in the Huskies’ shutout of Western Michigan (11/14) ... made a season-high five stops at Central Michigan (10/31) with a tackle for loss ... had three tackles and a tackle for loss against Ball State (11/7) ... credited with two tackles at Kent State (11/25) ... totaled three solo tackles and broke up a pass at Akron (10/7) ... posted a tackle for loss with two stops at Toledo (9/30) ... made first tackle at NIU against Southern Illinois (9/9) ... earned Academic All-MAC honors ...
- 2022 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at NORTHERN ILLINOIS): redshirt season … did not see any game action in his first season at NIU ... named the NIU defensive futures player of the year following the season.
- 2021 SEASON (FRESHMAN at UPPER IOWA): appeared in four games in lone season as a defensive lineman at Upper Iowa ... registered three tackles (two solo) on the season.
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Greenfield High School in Greenfield, Wisconsin, which is a suburb of Milwaukee ... was a four-year varsity letterwinner and a three-year captain from his sophomore through senior seasons.
- Received All-Region and All-State recognition in 2020 and 2021 ... selected as a first team All-Conference selection following each of his four prep seasons ... earned Team MVP honors as a senior.
- Two-sport athlete also competing for the wrestling program … was a two-time runner-up in the Wisconsin state wrestling tournament ... qualified for the honor roll all four years of high school.
PERSONAL
- Skyler Gill-Howard ... born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin ... parents are Geraldo Howard and Tonya Gill ... calls Greenfield, Wisconsin home with Geraldo and step-mother Nicole Dorrier ... has nine younger brothers and sisters.
- Enjoys exploring the multimedia space in video production and creating music.
- A leadership studies major at Texas Tech.
NFL Combine Media Day: David Bailey
Wednesday, February 25
NFL Combine Media Day: Lee Hunter
Wednesday, February 25
NFL Combine Media Day: Skyler Gill-Howard
Wednesday, February 25
NFL Combine Media Day: Jacob Rodriguez
Wednesday, February 25
