Name: Chris Howard
Number: 71
Position: Placekicker
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 207 lbs
Hometown: Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
High School: Ponte Vedra
Twitter: @Chris_Howard17
2020 statistics:
| FG% | FG | LNG | XPM | XPA | PTS |
| 100 | 2-2 | 32 | 7 | 7 | 13 |
Overview:
Rated as a five-star player and the No. 23 kicker in the 2017 class by Kohl’s Kicking, Howard turned a successful career at Ponte Vedra High School into a preferred walk-on offer from the Gators. He joined the roster in 2017, playing behind starter Eddy Piñeiro, and he redshirted the season.
He didn’t appear in a game as a redshirt freshman in 2018, though he did appear on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. He saw his first game action the following season in 2019, when he appeared in three games. He was 4 for 4 on extra-point attempts, and he averaged 55 yards on three kickoffs.
He only played in two games in 2020 as a redshirt junior, but he saw significant action in one of them as Florida’s top kicker when Evan McPherson was unavailable against Missouri. He made all five of his extra-point attempts in that game and also drilled two field goals. Howard also attempted a kickoff and converted on an extra point in UF’s win over Arkansas.
With McPherson heading to the NFL, Howard will be one of several kickers competing for the top spot in 2021, alongside Mississippi State transfer Jace Christmann and 2021 recruit Adam Mihalek, who the Gators added as a preferred walk-on.
Video:
#Gators kicker Chris Howard getting some work in at the swamp. pic.twitter.com/7broqHuFCk
— Nick Marcinko (@nick_marcinko) March 9, 2021