Texas A&M's Cashius Howell Takes Over as the SEC’s Sack Leader

Texas A&M fans, say hello to your new SEC sack leader in Cashius Howell.

After another dominant three-sack performance in Saturday night’s “Operation Blackout” win over Mississippi State, the senior edge rusher now sits atop the conference leaderboard with seven sacks through five games.

That total is more than the combined 6.5 sacks recorded by Shemar Stewart and Nic Scourton last season, both now in the NFL. Howell has already outproduced that duo’s 13-game total in eight fewer games

His seven sacks also put him two ahead of the next closest player in the SEC.

Saturday wasn’t the first time Howell has exploded for three sacks in a game, either. He pulled off the same feat earlier this year against Utah State, doing so on three consecutive plays.

Elite Texas A&M Defense

Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Cashius Howell (9) reacts after a sack during the fourth quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

After losing three defensive linemen to the NFL, many questioned how A&M’s 2025 front would fare. But even during the offseason, there were rumblings that the Aggies had something special in Howell.

“First of all, he is really good,” head coach Mike Elko said. “We tried to tell everybody that in the offseason and nobody really wanted to hear that, but he is a really talented football player. He’s really good at rushing the passer, that’s something he does extremely well.”

Howell’s breakout didn’t come out of nowhere. In limited snaps last year, he still managed four sacks, second on the team behind Scourton. Now, he’s already surpassed that mark and is on pace to become A&M’s first double-digit sack player since Landin Durham’s 10.5 in 2017.

While Howell’s skill set has been key, the Aggie defense’s overall performance has set the stage. Third down is the money down in football and the Aggie defense has done an astounding job at defending it.

Through two SEC games, the No. 5 Aggies have held opponents to just 1-for-25 on third and fourth downs, a staggering 96 percent stop rate. That level of consistency has completely flipped the narrative around A&M’s defense.

“We've been able to get in some situations, especially the last couple of weeks, where we can go after people on third down.” Elko said. “Now that you're into a normal SEC world, you can scheme some things up for him. You can get him into some matchups and allow him to use his skill sets and use his talents and he was certainly able to do that tonight.”

The Road Ahead

Florida Gators quarterback DJ Lagway (2) throws the ball from the end zone against the Texas Longhorns during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Next up is a dangerous Florida team fresh off an upset of then–No. 9 Texas. With ultra-talented DJ Lagway coming to town, Elko and the Aggie defense will once again need Howell to pressure the pocket if Texas A&M is to keep its undefeated season alive.

If Howell keeps this pace, his name could soon belong among the greats in Texas A&M’s storied tradition of edge rushers.