Height: 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Weight 108 kg College: Illinois Positions Linebacker | Name Dana Howard Awards Butkus Award Role American football player | |
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Date of birth: (1972-02-27) February 27, 1972 (age 43) Place of birth: East St. Louis, Illinois High school: East St. Louis Senior High School NFL draft: 1995 / Round: 5 / Pick: 168 Education University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||
Dana Cortez Howard (born February 27, 1972) is a former American college and professional American football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons during the 1990s. He played college football for the University of Illinois, was recognized as an All-American and won several national awards. A fifth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, he played professionally for the NFL's St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears.
Contents
- Early years
- College career
- Dallas Cowboys
- St Louis Rams
- Chicago Bears
- Philadelphia Eagles
- Personal life
- References
Early years
Howard was born in East St. Louis, Illinois. Howard attended East St. Louis High School, where he played for the East St. Louis Flyers high school football team coached by Bob Shannon.
College career
While attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Howard played for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 1991 to 1994. He was a member of Illinois' talented linebacker corps that included fellow standouts Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice and John Holecek. As a senior in 1994, he became the first Illini player to win the Dick Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Award, both presented annually to the best linebacker in college football. Howard earned first-team All-American honors in 1993, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 1994. He was the first player in school history to register at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons and is the all-time leading tackler in Fighting Illini history, with 595.
Dallas Cowboys
Howard was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (168th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. He was waived on August 27.
St. Louis Rams
On August 28, 1995, he was signed by the St. Louis Rams and after playing in 16 games, he was released on August 20, 1996.
Chicago Bears
On November 6, 1996, he signed with the Chicago Bears, playing in three games before breaking a finger and being placed on the injured reserve list. He wasn't re-signed at the end of the year.
Philadelphia Eagles
On February 11, 1999, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was allocated to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in the offseason. He was cut on September 4, 1999.
Personal life
He is the owner of Zoie LLC DBA Dana Howard Construction Company based in Belleville, Illinois.