Patrick Gerrard Howell (born March 12, 1957) is a former American college and professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

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) for seven seasons during the late 1970s and 1980s. Howell played college football at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

, and was recognized as an All-American. A second-round pick in the

1979 NFL Draft The 1979 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held May 3–4, 1979, at the Waldorf Astoria ...

, he played professionally for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

of the NFL.

Early years

Howell was born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. He was a ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' magazine high school All-American for Fresno High School football team in 1974, and Central California Valley discus throw champion in track and field.

College career

Howell attended the University of Southern California, where he played for the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...

team. As a senior in 1978, he received consensus first-team All-American honors.

Professional career

The Houston Oilers chose Howell in the second round (forty-ninth pick overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft, and he played for the Oilers from to , and Atlanta Falcons between 1983 and .

Football family

His son, Nick Howell, was an offensive lineman for the USC Trojans, after playing football at Bullard High School in Fresno, California. 1957 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive linemen Atlanta Falcons players Houston Oilers players Sportspeople from Fresno, California USC Trojans football players Ed Block Courage Award recipients {{offensive-lineman-1950s-stub