Howard Named LSC South Defensive Player of the Week
Linebacker Returns Interception 48 Yards for TD

PORTALES, N.M. — Eastern New Mexico University senior linebacker Jeff Howard (Portales, NM/Portales, HS) has been named Lone Star Conference South Division Defensive Player-of-the-Week for his contributions to ENMU’s win over Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, Sept. 11, at Greyhound Stadium.

Howard and the ENMU defense led the Greyhounds to a 39-0 shutout, as Head Coach Harold “Bud” Elliott earned his 200th career victory. Eastern improved to 1-2 on the season with the LSC crossover win. ENMU also evened its record at 1-1 in the overall LSC race.

Against SW Oklahoma, Howard returned an interception 48 yards for his first collegiate touchdown. He also recorded eight total tackles, with seven unassisted tackles and one assist. He had three tackles for losses (8 yards lost), including one quarterback sack for a 3-yard loss. His interception return gave the Greyhounds a 36-0 lead with 7:10 left in the third quarter.

Howard and his teammates on the ENMU defense sacked Southwestern Oklahoma quarterbacks 10 times for 62 yards lost, and limited SWOSU to just 140 total yards, including 27 rushing yards on 37 carries. The Bulldogs had minus-14 total yards and minus-33 rushing yards at halftime.

The Defensive Player-of-the-Week award was the second for Howard during his ENMU career. He previously received the award after recording seven total tackles, including three for losses, in Eastern’s 10-3 victory over LSC South opponent Texas A&M University-Commerce on Oct. 25, 2003. Howard led ENMU to an early goal-line stand in the win over the Lions, as he recorded a tackle for no gain on 2nd- and-goal at the 1-yard line, then recovered a fumble in the end zone on the next play.

Howard was Eastern’s leading tackler last season. He registered 85 total tackles, including a team-high 46 assists. He also led the team with 14 tackles for losses (43 yards lost). He had 3.0 sacks, two fumble recoveries, two quarterback hurries, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. He was named First Team All-LSC South.