| Austin Howard |
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Panther Plus: Transitioning from tight end to starting left tackle ... great size and speed for an offensive lineman.
2007: Started all 13 games at tight end ... used as more of a blocker than a downfield receiver ... hauled in five passes for 38 yards and a touchdown on the season ... caught his first collegiate pass for seven yards in UNI's 24-13 win at Iowa State (9/8) ... caught a career-high two passes for 20 yards in a 42-3 win at Western Illinois (10/20) ... nabbed his first collegiate touchdown pass on a four-yard toss from Eric Sanders in the fourth quarter of UNI's FCS playoff quarterfinal game against Delaware (12/1).
2006: Saw action in 10 games ... drew two starting assignments against Indiana State (10/14) and against Western Illinois (10/28) when the Panthers began the game with a two-tight end alignment ... did not record a statistic as he was used mostly in a blocking role.
2005: Redshirted.
High School: Second-team all-state, first-team Quad-City Times, all-Metro, first-team all-Mississippi Athletic Conference ... team captain ... high school coach: Matt Verdon ... led Blue Devils with 15 catches for 243 yards and four TDs.
Personal: Born March 22, 1987, in Davenport, Iowa ... son of Elston and Jamie Howard ... general studies major ... brother, Marcel, played at Iowa State and for the Detroit Lions ... enjoys cars, reading, basketball, baseball and track ... also recruited by Iowa, Kansas, Kansas State and Northern Illinois ... chose UNI because it's a "good school, has good athletics" and its location ... was a member of the 2005-06 UNI men's basketball team ... saw action in five contests as a freshman and averaged 1.6 points and 1.4 points as the Panthers qualified for their third straight NCAA tournament.
