Dana Howard is a former American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player.

In high school, Howard played for the East St. Louis Flyers, where he was coached by Bob Shannon

Bob Shannon

Robert Lavern Shannon is a former high school football coach best known for coaching the East St. Louis Flyers to six Illinois and two national championship victories. Shannon left East St. Louis in the mid-90s after he became fed up with fiscal mismanagement in the school district...

. At the University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

, Howard won the 1994 Dick Butkus Award

Dick Butkus Award

The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football...

, presented annually to the best linebacker

Linebacker

A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...

 in college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

. Howard's teammates at Illinois included fellow standout linebackers John Holecek

John Holecek

John Francis Holecek is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for eight seasons for the Buffalo Bills, the San Diego Chargers, and the Atlanta Falcons. After retiring, he returned to Illinois to coach high school football at Loyola Academy, a private college...

, Kevin Hardy, and Simeon Rice

Simeon Rice

Simeon James Rice [] is a former American football defensive end, last playing in 2009. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals third overall in the 1996 NFL Draft...

. Howard's career spanned the 1991 through 1994 college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 seasons. Howard was a consensus all-American in 1993 and 1994, and is the all-time leading tackle

Tackle (football move)

Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....

r in Fighting Illini

Illinois Fighting Illini

The Fighting Illini are the intercollegiate athletic teams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The University offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports....

 history, with 595.

Howard was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft

1995 NFL Draft

The 1995 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City...

 (168th pick overall). Howard signed with the St. Louis Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

 and played in 16 games in the 1995 NFL season

1995 NFL season

The 1995 NFL season was the 76th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 30 teams with the addition of the Carolina Panthers and the Jacksonville Jaguars...

. In 1996

1996 NFL season

The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end...

, Howard played in three games with the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

Howard also played with the Amsterdam Admirals

Amsterdam Admirals

The Amsterdam Admirals were a professional American football team in NFL Europe based in Amsterdam, Netherlands.-History:The Admirals were formed in 1995 as part of the NFL's plan to restart the World League of American Football, to be based entirely in Europe...

 of NFL Europe

NFL Europe

NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...

in 1999.