Texas A&M's Cashius Howell Reflects on Rare Performance

Three minutes into the second quarter of Saturday’s 44-22 win versus Utah State, Cashius Howell pulled off a feat that hadn’t been achieved since 2015, getting three sacks in consecutive plays.

Those three sacks in one drive were more than Shemar Stewart had all last season. He also was just two sacks shy of matching Nic Scourton’s team leading five from 2024.

Unsurprisingly, Howell’s “sack trick” became a hot topic in the postgame press conference, where he broke down what went into the historic sequence.

Cashius Howell’s “Sack Trick”

Texas A&M defensive lineman Cashius Howell. — Texas A&M defensive lineman Cashius Howell (18) grabs the face mask of Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (26) during the Lone Star Showdown at Kyle Field. | Sara Diggins/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

For Aggie fans, seeing a pass rusher break through twice in a game is rare. Three times in a row? Unheard of. Howell credited the moment to being locked into what he called “the flow.”

“After I got the first one, it was just kind of like ‘next play,’” Howell said. “Then I got the second one, and I was like, ‘OK, hold on.’ I kind of started to feel myself. The only way I can describe it is a flow state. I just told myself, ‘If he throws it, I’m gonna get home.’”

He later described that flow as “just letting your body do what your body does, going off pure instinct.”

That kind of production was missing a year ago. In 2024, Texas A&M managed only 25 sacks across 13 games.

Here is a fun stat: 26 times last season the Aggies had their hands on quarterbacks but were unable to complete the sack. That pretty much sums up A&M’s 2024 campaign.

By comparison, 10 of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff accumulated 35 sacks or more. National champion Ohio State had 53. Runner-up Notre Dame had 40.

Through two games this season, the Aggies already have four sacks, nearly a fifth of last year’s total. The first true test, however, comes next week when A&M travels to South Bend to face No. 9 Notre Dame

In last year’s opener, the Aggies managed just one sack against an inexperienced Notre Dame offensive line. That same unit returns this season far more polished, entering the matchup as PFF’s ninth-ranked group.

Saturday’s showdown will serve as a true temperature check for Texas A&M’s revamped defensive front, now led by Howell.

If the Aggies are to pull off the upset, their chances will hinge on disrupting CJ Carr and the Irish offense. With Notre Dame’s line among the nation’s best, the battle in the trenches could decide everything in South Bend.