Marcus Howard (born October 10, 1985) is an American former professional football player who was a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL). He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs. Howard has also been a member of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...

Early years

Howard played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

Hanahan High School Hanahan High School is a public high school located in Hanahan, South Carolina, United States. It serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the Berkeley County School District. The principal is Tom Gallus. History Hanahan High School was ope ...

Hanahan, South Carolina Hanahan is a city in Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 12,937 at the 2000 census. The 2010 census puts the population at 17,997. Portions of the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, including the Naval Consolidated ...

. While there he played

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

and was a three-time all-region and two-time class 2-A all-state choice. As a senior, he was the class 2-A Defensive Player of the Year. He also played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and ran track.

College career

Howard played college football at

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He played both

and linebacker. During his senior year, he started all 13 games and achieved First-team All- SEC honors after recording 41

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, 10.5 sacks, and three forced

fumbles A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

. He finished his career with 79 tackles, 12 sacks, and four forced fumbles. He won the

2008 Sugar Bowl The 2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season, and was the 74th Sugar Bowl. It was played on January 1, 2008, in the Lo ...

MVP after he posted 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble which he recovered in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

for a touchdown, and a deflected pass which was intercepted by teammate Dannell Ellerbe.

Professional career

Indianapolis Colts

Howard was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He was waived on September 5, 2009.

Tennessee Titans

Howard signed a future contract with the

on January 13, 2010. He was waived on August 12. He was later re-signed, only to be released again on July 28, 2011.

Edmonton Eskimos

On August 1, 2011, Howard signed a contract with the Edmonton Eskimos of the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

References

External links

Edmonton Eskimos player bio

Indianapolis Colts bio
*http://www.georgiadogs.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=40675&SPID=3571&DB_OEM_ID=8800&ATCLID=308242&Q_SEASON=2007 *https://web.archive.org/web/20111123104626/http://esks.com/article/esks-add-to-d-line {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Marcus 1985 births Living people People from Berkeley County, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football defensive ends American football linebackers Indianapolis Colts players Tennessee Titans players Players of Canadian football from South Carolina Canadian football defensive linemen Edmonton Elks players