 Howard graduated from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, California, and played college football at Washington State University in Pullman under head coach Jim Walden.He was All-Pac-10 as a senior in 1985, and selected by the Giants in the second round of the 1986 NFL Draft, 46th overall.In the game against the two-time defending NFL champion San Francisco 49ers, Howard came up with one of the biggest plays of the 1990 season and arguably the biggest play in Giants history.