Latest Cashius Howell Conversation Reveals Fascinating Football Stories

One of the heart and souls of Texas A&M’s defense is defensive end Cashius Howell.

In a recent one-on-one interview with “The Voice of The Aggies,” Andrew Monaco, Howell sat down to look back on his journey of playing football, how he got to Aggieland, along with sharing exclusive background of a few of the four “H’s” that every player within the program shared to build trust and bond.

Describing A&M Defense

Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) and linebacker Solomon DeShields (22) celebrate after forcing a fumble. — Sep 28, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive lineman Nic Scourton (11) and linebacker Solomon DeShields (22) celebrate after forcing a fumble against the Arkansas Razorbacks at AT&T Stadium. | Matt Guzman-Texas A&M Aggies On SI

Finishing.

That’s the word Howell uses when he analyzes his defense.

“As we go down the periods of practice, we look at it as quarters,” Howell said. “Toward the end of practice, we all hold up the fours just as if it's a fourth quarter. We are treating every rep, every practice, every play — every facet of football finishing.”

Howell is in his second season under head coach Mike Elko. He’s built up a ton of success in his short time in College Station, Texas, where he recorded three straight sacks in the Utah State game, but still holds that concept of finishing when reflecting on games he’s been in that A&M has lost.

“You look back last year whenever we played Notre Dame. We’ve had a lot of games where we’ve been up on the score. When the game is said and done, we’re ending off with losses. Coach Elko has been putting a lot of emphasis on finishing as a defense and as a team.”

However, this mindset has likely been ingrained in Howell’s mind for a long time, with his experience in high school and at Bowling Green.

Jumping Around

Humble beginnings.

It wasn’t always easy for Howell to start his sports career, where he had to balance playing basketball and football. He’s adjusted to moving to another home and built his way up from the first-year B team, and that's when he started to ball out.

Eventually, Howell got a call-up to the JV team, where he saw his first snaps as a defensive end and even played some wide receiver on varsity. Later, he went through COVID-19, but was gaining attention, receiving phone calls for an invitation to camps.

“Through God’s grace, Bowling Green was one of the schools throughout my whole recruitment, even with it being not what I necessarily wanted it to be, they always seemed like they were in my corner and heavily recruited me, letting me know that they saw something special in me,” Howell said. “If it wasn’t for them taking a risk on me, just a kid from Kansas City, who knows where I would be at.”

Then, A&M came around in the transfer portal and snagged him, making Howell think he got recruited for the first time because of COVID-19 limiting visits.

“It felt like I was actually getting recruited for the first time,” Howell said. “I never got a chance to take any official visits or anything like that, so once I was blessed enough by God to be able to get recruited by some of these high-level college programs, it was crazy.”

Four H’s

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko celebrates a 52-10 win against the McNeese State Cowboys at Kyle Field. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

History. Heroes. Heartbreaks. Hopes.

A concept that the A&M coaching staff thought would be a great bonding experience for all players to share.

For Howell, he was kind enough to share some of his H’s, including his hero, which was his pop.

“I moved in with my dad before my freshman year, and before I moved in with him, I know the environment I was in prior with my mom — just wasn’t headed down a good, positive trajectory path. Moving in with him honestly helped shape me to the man I am today,” Howell said. “As I got older, I saw how valuable he was as a positive male role model within my life. Without him, I don’t know where I would be.”

Howell added that talking about the H’s helped with team chemistry.

“Us being able to take a step back and be vulnerable with each other and tell each other some real things about us that we went through, it helps us create that bond and build that trust.”

As for hope, it’s to keep excelling.

“After I been through to get here, it would be a sin to get complacent,” Howell said. “My hope is to just continue to stay on the right path and to allow God to guide me in the right direction to hopefully lead me to wherever this life may take me.”