Jack Howell is making a name for himself as one of the best defensive backs in college football. 

Coming off of a breakout campaign in which he earned Freshman All-American honors in 2021, Howell has taken his game to another level in 2022 and really shined through the early stages of the season. 

Through four games this fall, Howell’s 45 total tackles is the eighth-most in the FBS, and his three interceptions is currently tied for the second-most in the country. 

While it’s clearly been a rough start to the 2022 campaign for Colorado State as a whole, Howell’s relentless effort has been both admirable and impressive. There are no off plays for him or stretches where Howell seemingly disappears. The sophomore from Fort Collins is constantly flying around trying to make plays for the Green & Gold. And it’s that willingness to never give an inch, to never concede defeat on any given snap, that’s allowed him to really stand out for the Rams. 

In Saturday’s loss to Sacramento State, Howell suffered a lower leg injury and at one point had to be helped off the field by the training staff. After appearing to really be in pain, Howell was briefly evaluated in the medical tent, before getting his ankle wrapped on the sideline, and ultimately going back out with the defense on the next series.

Shortly after coming back on the field, Howell came down with an interception. He later forced a fumble that ultimately landed out of bounds as well. 

Those moments obviously did not end up propelling CSU to victory against Sacramento State, but his interception did prevent things from getting out of hand in the first half after Clay Millen went down. Plus it was also followed up by the Rams’ lone touchdown of the day, so it was one of the few stretches in 2022 where we got to see the squad play complimentary football. 

Really though, what stood out the most about the entire sequence was Howell’s heart. Even after coming down with the interception, it was clear that the sophomore safety was not 100%. Throughout the second half he was constantly trying to stretch and keep himself loose in-between plays. But that’s the thing about Howell — it did not matter that the Rams were down big and seemingly had little hope — he was going to battle for four quarters.

Moving forward, the Rams need some of the other people on this team to match the type of effort that Howell is bringing to the table daily. They also need the guys in the back end to step up and start creating more turnovers. It’s clear that the staff believes they are capable of producing more, as we’ve heard that consistently from both Jay Norvell (HC) and Freddie Banks (DC). In the opening month though, it’s really only been Howell that’s been able to consistently come up with the big momentum swinging moments, at least as far as the secondary goes. We’ve some really great moments from C.J. Onyechi and Mo Kamara along the edge.

“Jack has been playing really hard,” Norvell said postgame. “He’s done a lot of positive things. I think we have a lot of guys that are doing that.”

Norvell continued by praising the aforementioned individuals for how hard they’ve consistently played this season. 

“They’ve fought to the end in every game this season, and that effort is going to pay off. We need more guys to continue to do that.”

While it’s no surprise to anyone in Ram Nation that Howell has been a stud in the early stages of the 2022 season, he technically started the year in the rotation and not as one CSU’s starting safeties. 

It would have been really easy for him to just say “screw it” and bolt on the team before the Rams even played a down this season, particularly after how great he played all of last season. He could have thrown a tantrum or posted a bunch of cryptic tweets about how he’s been wronged. Instead he worked his tail off, made the most of every rep he received, and by Week 2, he made it so that the coaches basically had no choice but to keep him on the field as much as possible. 

“We just do whatever coach says, put our heads down and go to work,” Howell told DNVR a few weeks back. “Wherever it all ends up, that is what it is.”

That selfless mindset is a big reason why Howell is a natural leader on the field and in the locker room for the Rams. As is his work ethic, which according to Howell, coincides well with Freddie Banks. As the rising star of the CSU defense explained, the first-year Rams defensive coordinator is extremely intense and holds everyone accountable. But it’s that pursuit of perfection that makes the biggest difference in the end. 

“I’ve come to like that because, you know, once you get in the game, coach isn’t there anymore. He can’t hold your hand,” Howell said. “So you feel confident and you feel prepared going in.”

Howell said that his man coverage skills have improved under Banks. He also said that he feels more versatile this season due to getting more experience down in the box against certain run sets. After primarily playing free safety in 2021, Howell has gotten in a lot of work at strong safety under this new staff. 

“I’m down in the box more in run fits — working alongside the linebackers,” Howell said. “The strong safety kinda has to know what everybody is doing, everything that’s going on. I like the role. But I’m just continuing to try and get better at it, and I’m getting more comfortable with it every week.”

Clearly it’s been a challenging opening month for CSU (0-4), nobody wanted to see this team’s losing streak extended to double digits after just a brutal second half of the 2021 season. As frustrating as it’s been though, stalwart effort from guys like Howell every week are a good reminder of how bad the players want to win.

However much disappointment the fans feel in the stands, the guys on the gridiron have to live it every day. It’s inspiring to see a player like Jack Howell continually grind and do everything in his power to try and elevate this football program. I hope at some point this season these guys get to experience the sweet taste of victory. But at the very least, I hope it’s known that Howell’s efforts are not going unnoticed.