Howard accepted a football scholarship from the
University of Illinois, where he became a four-year starter. After being
redshirted because the team had starter
Darrick Brownlow at
middle linebacker, in his freshman season he posted 134 tackles (conference record) and 4 sacks. He made a career-high 24 total tackles and a school record 20 solo tackles against
Ohio State University. He had 23 tackles against the
University of Michigan. From the start of his sophomore season he was a member of a talented linebacker corps that included fellow standouts
Kevin Hardy,
Simeon Rice and
John Holecek. He registered 138 tackles and 4 forced fumbles. He had 18 tackles against the
University of Michigan and 17 against
Ohio State University. As a junior, he had 123 tackles and 4 passes defensed. He made 17 tackles against the
University of Minnesota. As a senior in 1994, he recorded career-highs in tackles (141), tackles for loss (9), fumble recoveries (4) and interceptions (2), while also making 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. He tallied 18 tackles against
Purdue University and the
University of Michigan. He was recognized as a consensus first-team
All-American that season, becoming the first Illini player to win the
Dick Butkus Award and
Jack Lambert Award, both presented annually to the best linebacker in college football. He was the first player in school history to register at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons, to lead the team in tackles for four straight years and he also finished as the all-time leading
tackler in school and conference history with 595. In 2017, he was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the
College Football Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame. ==Professional career==