Thomas Howard (American football)

Thomas Howard (born July 14, 1983) is an American football linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Raiders in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football for the University of Texas at El Paso.

College career
Thomas A. Howard began his college career as a walk-on at the University of Texas at El Paso and was then redshirted. He had a solid freshman season, being named to Sporting News All-WAC Freshman team. He played in 11 games and made 4 starts at weakside linebacker. The following season he played in 13 games and started 10 of them. He had a great junior season being named Second Team All-WAC and helping lead his team to their first bowl game since 2001. He had a mediocre senior season after being named pre-season defensive player of the year in the state of Texas.

2006
He recorded 110 tackles, 88 solo tackles, and 1 pass deflection in 2006.

2007
Howard's second season started off with an interception in each of his first 4 games, 2 of them which were returned for touchdowns. Since then he has also recorded a quarterback sack and 8 passes defensed. In only his second NFL season, Howard led the NFL in linebacker interceptions with 6 for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns. At the end of 2007, Howard had 95 tackles, 77 solo, 11 pass deflections, 6 interceptions, 1 sack, and 2 touchdowns.

2008
Howard recorded his first career forced fumble during a week 2 victory against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs. He recorded a second during a week 16 victory against the Houston Texans. At the end of the 2008 season, Thomas Howard had 97 tackles, 80 solo, 5 pass deflections, 1 interception, 1 sack, and 2 forced fumbles.

2009
While tallying a career low 79 tackles, 72 of which were solo, Howard still came away with a career high 2 sacks. He finished the season with 79 tackles, 72 solo, 6 pass deflections, 2 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.

2010
The Oakland Raiders waived him.

2011
He signed a contract for 2 years worth 6.5 million dollars. Thomas Howard

2012
Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports the Bengals have placed linebacker Thomas Howard on injured reserve after he tore his ACL in practice on September 13, 2012.

Family
His father, Thomas Howard, Sr., also played in the NFL as a linebacker. Though never playing for the Raiders, He did return 3 fumble recoveries for touchdowns against some of the Raiders most hated rivals: one in 1980 against the Denver Broncos, one in 1981  against the Pittsburgh Steelers, and one in 1984 against the New England Patriots.

Philanthropy
In January 2010, Howard donated money to the Bay Area After-School All-Stars. The Bay Area After-School All-Stars is a program that provides free after school programming for underserved youth. The program currently serves 26 schools in San Jose and is looking to expand to more schools in the future. Students attend the program for four hours each day after school, doing their homework creating art and playing sports.

Howard launched the Thomas Howard Foundation in September 2009 with the efforts to build partnerships and programs to enhance student’s academic and athletic goals. The Foundation benefits youth who seek to excel in both education and organized sports activities. The signature scholarships and programs of the Thomas Howard Foundation include: The Annual Walk-On Scholarship; YFL Football Uniforms Scholarship Fund; the Are You Smarter than a 4th Grader program for school curriculum enhancement; and supporting the After-School All-Stars, providing programs that include academic support, enrichment opportunities, and health/fitness activities. Each year Howard returns to his college town of El Paso for a special program honoring Walk-On athletes. For more information, please visit www.Mr53.com.