Desmond Howard
Desmond Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States on May 15th, 1970 and is the Football Player. At the age of 54, Desmond Howard biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 54 years old, Desmond Howard has this physical status:
Desmond Kevin Howard (born May 15, 1970) is an American former professional football player in the National Football League (NFL).
Howard was best known as a return specialist, but he also played wide receiver.
He is currently a college football analyst for ESPN. He played for the Michigan Wolverines from 1989 to 1991 and also lifted the Heisman Trophy in 1991.
He played for the Washington Redskins (1992–1994), Jacksonville Jaguars (1995), Green Bay Packers (1996, 1999), and Detroit Lions (1999–2002).
Howard was named the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XXI by winning over the New England Patriots and becoming the first and only special teams player to win the award.
By NFL Network's NFL Top 10 return aces, Howard was rated the ninth greatest return specialist in NFL history.
Howard was inducted into the 2011 class of the College Football Hall of Fame on July 16, 2011.
Personal life
Howard was the cover athlete for the NCAA Football Video Game NCAA Football 06, 2006.
High school career
Howard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and received All-American and All-Ohio recognition as a tailback during his senior season at St. Joseph High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he had 18 touchdowns and a record-breaking 10,392 yards as well as 10 interceptions on defense. He received three varsity letters in track and football, as well as one in basketball.
College career
Howard set or tied five NCAA and 12 Wolverines records during his college years at the University of Michigan. Howard played 62 passes for 985 yards and scored 23 touchdowns on his first two years as a quarterback for 184 yards and 694 yards on special teams, with an average of 27.5 yards per punt return and 14.1 yards per punt return. He received the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Award, as well as first-team All-American recognition. Howard received 85 percent of the first-place votes in the Heisman poll, the first time in history. In 1992, Howard received a bachelor's degree in communications. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2011 and named as the inaugural Michigan Football Legend, a program honoring former players in lieu of a retired jersey number. Any Michigan player will wear Howard's No. 58. Howard's jersey was to wear a patch recognizing him, as well as dress at a locker with a plaque identifying his name and date of service at Michigan. Howard had 349 yards, 139 receptions for 2,146 yards, 1,211 kickoff return yards, and 339 yards returning punts, while still scoring 37 touchdowns.
Howard was on a tailback in Michigan and had trouble getting enough playing time. He worked with Michigan counselor Greg Harden, who aided him in building his confidence and achieving success on and off the track. "I don't win the Heisman if Greg Harden wasn't at the University of Michigan," Howard said in 60 Minutes in 2014.
Howard appeared on "The Mount Rushmore of Michigan Football" on December 12, 2014, as voted by online fan voting. Howard Carter, Tom Harmony, and Anthony Carter were all present at the service.
Howard had his #21 officially retired along with Gerald Ford (48), Tom Harmon (97), Bennie Osterbaan (47), and Albert, Alvin (11) at a ceremony against Ohio State on November 28, 2015. "Any time you have your name mentioned along with Gerald Ford, you've done something right," Howard continued afterward.
Howard, who was born and raised in Cleveland, was "very, very familiar" with the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry, according to a later post. Howard decided during the 1991 season, after he became a Heisman candidate, "as a little shout-out to the people back in Ohio."
Howard Howard's teammates were forbidden from scoring, according to Ohio State coach John Cooper. Howard's punt on the game was supposed to have gone out of bounds, so the Ohio State special teams players weren't as well prepared for him. Howard intended to do a backflip but Howard later said he'chickened out"; rather, he imitated the image of the football player on the Heisman trophy bust, attracting significant media coverage. "But Howard's performance resembles Muhammad Ali's taunting of opponents," Steve Rushin said, "it's more like the Heisman Trophy of our imagination than the Heisman Trophy itself" — "people appear to have erupted and started doing the same thing." Howard later said that "someone was doing it"; many have imitated the act, including actors, actors, and Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Howard said that the pose has become a salute to fans of his appearance, but that he avoids doing it himself "because the more I do it, the cheaper it gets."
Professional career
Howard was selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round, fourth overall in the 1992 NFL Draft. The pick was considered a luxury by the Redskins, who had just won Super Bowl XXVI and had receiver Art Monk, Gary Clark, and Ricky Sanders on the roster. The Redskins, who were concerned that the Green Bay Packers were going to draft Howard in the fifth spot, leapfrogged them by giving their second-round pick (4th) and third-round pick (58th) to the Cincinnati Bengals for their first-round pick (4th) and their third-round pick (58th). Howard was the highest Redskins draft pick since being drafted with the third pick in 1964. Howard Howard Howard said of him, "This guy hasn't got no flaws." We're excited."
Howard's success as a receiver was secondary to his success as a punt and kickoff returner during his 11-year career. Despite his 92 receptions in his first four seasons, he excelled as a punt and kickoff returner throughout his career.
Howard was drafted in the 1995 NFL expansion draft with the 55th pick in the 1995 NFL expansion draft. With ten kick returns, he had 26 receptions and one touchdown.
In 1996, the Green Bay Packers' most memorable professional season came. While receiving 460 kickoff return yards and intercepting 13 passes for 95 yards, he led the NFL in punt returns (58), punt return average (875), punt return average (15.1), and punt return touchdowns (3). His 875 punt return yards tied for the first time since Fulton Walker's 692 yards were a new record in NFL football, easily beating Fulton Walker's old record of 692 yards. Howard had a punt return for a touchdown in a game between the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, as well as a 46-yard punt return that set up another score. However, he did have an odd blunder in the second half, in which he refused to come out of the locker room in time for the third quarter to begin. For the second half kickoff, there were only 10 men on the field, no one on the team knew, but there were only 10 men on the field, no one in the returner position. As a result, San Francisco played down the field and recovered the kickoff, resulting in a 49ers touchdown. Despite that, the Packers dominated the game and advanced to Super Bowl XXI against the New England Patriots.
At halftime, the Packers led 27-21-14, but Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe led his team on a short drive that culminated with Curtis Martin's 18-yard touchdown run to pull the Patriots closer to six minutes late in the third quarter. The Patriots roared during the ensuing kickoff to the one-yard line, but Howard shattered the Patriots' hopes for a revival with a 99-yard kickoff return for a Packers touchdown. The Packers eventually defeated 35-21 after his return and the Packers' subsequent two-point conversion closed out the game's scoring. After the game, Bill Parcells, the Patriots' head coach, noted, "We had a lot of energy and our defense was playing better." But [Howard] made the big play. That was the game on full throttle. He's been amazing all year, and he was unstoppable today." Howard finished with 90 punt return yards and 154 kickoff return yards with one touchdown; his 244 all-purpose yards tied for the highest Super Bowl record in the Super Bowl. Howard was the only player to win the Super Bowl MVP award purely based on a special teams' success, owing to his results. His kickoff return to the Super Bowl was his only one of his career.
Howard debuted as a free agent and signed with the Oakland Raiders after the season. He led the NFL in kickoff returns (61) and kickoff return yards (1,381). Howard spent time with the Oakland Raiders in 1998 before re-joining the Packers in 1999.
Howard was fired by the Packers in the middle of the 1999 season after a subpar appearance and several injuries. He was signed by the Detroit Lions four days later, where he spent the remainder of his career until his retirement in 2002. In his Lions debut, he scored a special teams touchdown in a special homecoming. He made his first and only Pro Bowl appearance as the NFC's kick returner in February 2001.
Howard played 123 passes for 1,597 yards, rushed for 68 yards, returned 244 punts for 2,895 yards, and finished 795 yards in his 11 NFL seasons, with 359 kickoffs. He has also scored 15 touchdowns (7 receiving and 8 punt returns). Howard's total yards on his career total are 12,155 all-purpose yards.
Broadcasting career
Howard now works for ESPN as a college football analyst. He appears as an in-studio entertainer, and he and Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbsto were among the season's top matchup venues.
On the Detroit Lions Television Network, he is also the color commentator for Detroit Lions pre-season games. With former ESPN colleague Carter Blackburn, he called games for the NFL on Fox for one season.