Dana Howard

Background

Howard was born in East Saint Louis, Illinois.

Education

Howard attended East Saint Louis High School, where he played for the East Saint Louis Flyers high school football team coached by Bob Shannon.

Career

A fifth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, he played professionally for the NFL"s Saint Louis Rams and Chicago Bears. While attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Howard played for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team from 1991 to 1994. Howard earned first-team All-American honors in 1993, and was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American in 1994.

He was the first player in school history to register at least 100 tackles in each of his four seasons and is the all-time leading tackler in Fighting Illini history, with 595.

Dallas Cowboys

Howard was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the fifth round (168th overall) of the 1995 NFL Draft. He was waived on August 27.

Saint Louis Rams

On August 28, 1995, he was signed by the Saint Louis Rams and after playing in 16 games, he was released on August 20, 1996. Chicago Bears

On November 6, 1996, he signed with the Chicago Bears, playing in three games before breaking a finger and being placed on the injured reserve list.

He wasn"t re-signed at the end of the year.

Philadelphia Eagles

On February 11, 1999, he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles. He was allocated to the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europe in the offseason. He was cut on September 4, 1999.

He is the owner of Zoie Limited Liability Company Doctor of Business Administration Dana Howard Construction Company based in Belleville, Illinois.

Achievements

• He played college football for the University of Illinois, was recognized as an All-American and won several national awards. As a senior in 1994, he became the first Illini player to win the Dick Butkus Award and Jack Lambert Award, both presented annually to the best linebacker in college football.

Membership

He was a member of Illinois" talented linebacker corps that included fellow standouts Kevin Hardy, Simeon Rice and John Holecek.