Austin Howard

Austin Howard (born March 22, 1987) is an American football offensive tackle for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Northern Iowa.

Howard has also been a member of the Baltimore Ravens.

Early years
Howard attended Davenport Central High School in Davenport, Iowa.

College career
Howard signed with Northern Iowa in 2005 as a tight end. He was redshirted during the 2005 season.

He joined the school's basketball team in December 2005 as a forward, and on December 22, he scored four points and blocked three shots in a game against Hawaii Pacific.

On December 1, 2007 in a game against the Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, Howard caught a touchdown pass from Eric Sanders to bring the Panthers within five points of Delaware, but the Blue Hens ended up winning the game, 39–27. He started in all 13 games at tight end in 2007. He made five receptions for 38 yards.

Howard made the switch from tight end to offensive tackle during the 2008 offseason. He earned MVFC offensive lineman of the week honors following a game against Missouri State on November 8, 2008.

Howard earned second-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors following the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

Philadelphia Eagles
Howard was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft on April 27, 2010. He made the 53-man roster and played in four games, starting at left tackle in one game.

In order to better fit into new offensive line coach Howard Mudd's system, Howard lost about 15 pounds to get down to 330 pounds. However, he was waived during final roster cuts on September 3, 2011.

Baltimore Ravens
Howard was signed to the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad on September 6, 2011.

New York Jets
The New York Jets signed Howard to their active roster off the Ravens' practice squad on November 25, 2011.

On August 23, 2012, head coach Rex Ryan made the decision to bench Wayne Hunter, giving the starting Right Tackle job to Howard.

Personal
Howard has two brothers, Marcel and Aaron, who both played college football at Iowa State.