Willie Howard Class: Senior Hometown: Mountain View, California High School: Los Altos Height / Weight: 6-4 / 298 Position: DT Experience: 4V

At Stanford: One of the top defensive linemen in the nation and an All-America candidate in 2000...Has started 34 consecutive games for Stanford the past three seasons...Extended the streak to 34 games at the Rose Bowl despite ACL damage and an MCL sprain to his right knee...Had off-season knee surgery... Expected to make a full recovery for the 2000 season ...Great leader both on and off the field...Has tremendous size and strength...Very quick and explosive for a player his size...Has the ability to put pressure on the quarterback as well as play the run effectively...Great pursuit ability ...The leader of Stanford's defensive unit and one of the leaders on the team.

The 1999 Season: Stanford's top defensive player and leader of the "Trench Dogs" had an outstanding 1999 campaign...Awarded the Morris Trophy as the top defensive lineman in the Pac-10...Also a First-Team All-Pac-10 selection...Was named First-Team All-Pac-10 after registering 54 total tackles, 10 quarterback sacks and 19 tackles-for-loss...Finished third in the Pac-10 in both tackles-for-loss and sacks...He also added two fumble recoveries, which ranked third in the conference...Returned one of those fumbles 22 yards for a touchdown at Arizona State...Big reason Stanford recorded 46 team sacks in '99, after posting just 28 in '98...Had 12 tackles, including five for a loss, and two sacks vs. San Jose State...Had nine tackles, four for a loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery vs. Oregon State...Had eight tackles, including three unassisted, at Washington...Suffered what was believed to be a season-ending knee injury on Nov. 27 vs. Notre Dame...But despite ACL damage and an MCL sprain in his right knee, he returned to start in the Rose Bowl vs. Wisconsin...Had five tackles, including one for a seven-yard loss, against the Badgers.

The 1998 Season: Named Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 after starting all 11 games, 10 at defensive tackle and one at defensive end...Named one of the team's co-captains along with senior Donnie Spragan...Winner of the Al Masters Award for leadership and respect of teammates...Accounted for 53 total tackles, 10 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 quarterback sacks...He also recovered one fumble and blocked a kick...In the season opener vs. San Jose State, he recorded seven total tackles, four tackles-for-loss and 2.5 quarterback sacks...Also had seven tackles vs. Oregon State to go along with two tackles-for-loss and one sack...Had six tackles vs. USC and Cal, including one sack and one tackle-for-loss vs. the Golden Bears.

The 1997 Season: Won the starting job at nose tackle prior to the '97 campaign and started all 11 games...Finished the year with 21 unassisted tackles, 28 total tackles, two QB sacks, two tackles-for-loss and one fumble recovery...Recorded a season-high five tackles vs. UCLA...He had three unassisted tackles, one QB sack, one tackle-for-loss and a fumble recovery vs. Notre Dame...Tallied four unassisted tackles at Arizona...Winner of the Menlo-Atherton Award as the team's top freshman (by eligibility).

The 1996 Season: Redshirted the '96 season as a true freshman.

In High School: A SuperPrep All-America from nearby Los Altos High School in the Bay Area...Willie started on both the defensive and offensive lines in HS for three seasons...SuperPrep ranked him as the 17th best recruit in the Far West and the 18th best defensive line prospect in the country...He played in only seven games in 1995 before suffering a broken ankle in game #8...He averaged over 15 tackles per game before his injury...First-Team All-Peninsula and First-Team All-League despite missing the final three games of the season...As a junior, he played center, defensive tackle, defensive end and tight end...He averaged over 11 tackles per game on defense while being named First-Team All-League as a defensive lineman...Second-Team All-League defensive lineman as a sophomore...Participated in basketball, track and wrestling in high school...In basketball, was Honorable Mention All-League as a sophomore and Second-Team All-League as a junior.

Personal Information: Communication major.

Howard's Career Statistics