Sam Howard is a linebacker who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Tulane.
Howard ranges from hash to hash and finishes the tackle. Arrived at Tulane from Austin Peay. Named All-AAC two seasons running, most recently in 2025. A game that shows it: 7 tackles and 1 tackle for loss against Tulsa — Week 5, 2025.
Play style
Ranges from hash to hash and makes his own tackles.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
50 tackles. 0 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 8.5 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 23-3vs Northwestern | 3 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 33-31@ South Alabama | 5 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 34-27vs Duke | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-45@ No. 13 Ole Miss | 5 | 3 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 31-14@ Tulsa | 7 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 7 tackles |
| Wk 7 | W 26-19vs East Carolina | 6 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 11 | W 38-32@ No. 22 Memphis | 5 | 4 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 37-13@ Temple | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | W 27-0vs Charlotte | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 15 | W 34-21vs No. 20 North Texas | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Bowl | L 10-41@ No. 6 Ole Miss | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 50 | 30 | 8.5 | 4.0 | — | 0 |
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
Tackle volume
50tackles this seasonTFL rate
17%8 TFLSack rate
8%4 sacksPD rate
0%0 pass breakups50 tackles · 8.5 for loss · 4 sacks.
2 seasons under Jon Sumrall — 20-8 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road6g | 5.0 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jon Sumrall
Pass share
45.8%
424 pass / 501 run
Plays / game
66.1
14 games
Team sack rate
2.4%
410 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
2026 outlook
Outside shot to repeat All-AAC
Based on 2025: #20 of 61 American Athletic LBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 22% of returning players who ranked #11–20 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 19–25%).
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 2ND TEAM
All-AAC 2nd team (2025)
Weekly recognition
1 weekly honor (2024)
AAC Defensive Player of the Week
