Eli Howard is going to be a big part of the 2019 defense that first-year head coach Matt Wells fields for Texas Tech in 2019.

After a breakout 2017 and another solid season in 2018, Howard is flying under the radar for big stars in the state of Texas.

Here is what texasfootball.com had to say about Howard, who was listed as one of the 5 most underrated college football players in Texas:

Howard’s 3.5 sacks and 37 tackles are a respectable number, but neither does much to show just how impactful he is in the Texas Tech front seven. He was credited with a quarterback hurry in seven games, but made his presence felt in all 12. It’s fitting that the walk-on – who started graduate work at Tech with three years of eligibility remaining – continues to change games in ways that don’t appear in the box score.

Howard almost had 10 or more sacks that he just missed on last season. He also connected on batted balls at a much higher rate in 2017 when he got his hands on passes with crazy consistency.

With two years of eligibility, not three, Howard is one of the most tenured juniors in the state and has the potential to re-breakout in 2019 in a new defensive system.

With 60 total tackles, 11 TFLs and a couple of forced fumbles, you know Howard has the talent and pedigree. The total defensive success sure does make individual accolades hard to come by.

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