Howard Edward Cross III (born July 31, 2001) is an American college football defensive tackle for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish – No. 56 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Class |  |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | July 31, 2001 Paramus, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 288 lb (131 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Saint Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey) |
Early life
editCross was born in Paramus, New Jersey and attended Saint Joseph Regional High School. In his high school career, Cross was a state-champion wrestler.[1] Cross would decide to commit to play college football at the University of Notre Dame.[2][3]
College career
editAs a freshman in 2019, Cross totaled seven tackles in three games.[4] In the shortened 2020 season, he finished the year with 13 tackles.[5] In week twelve of the 2021 season, Cross notched two sacks in a win over Georgia Tech.[6] Cross finished the 2021 season with 22 tackles with 4.5 being for a loss, and three sacks.[7] In week two of the 2022 season, Cross recorded 11 tackles with half a tackle being for a loss, in a loss over Marshall.[8] Cross finished the 2022 season with 33 tackles with 2.5 going for a loss, two sacks, a pass deflection, and a forced fumble.[9] Cross came into the 2023 season, as the Fighting Irish starting nose tackle.[10] In week five of the 2023 season, Cross had a career performance where he tallied 13 tackles with 3.5 going for a loss, a sack, and two forced fumbles, as he helped Notre Dame to a win over Duke.[11] Cross was named a midseason All-American, after eight weeks of the 2023 season.[12] Cross is currently projected as a mid round NFL draft pick in the upcoming 2024 NFL draft.[13]
Statistics
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sack | PD | Int | Yds | TD | FF | FR | TD | ||
| 2019 | Notre Dame | 4 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | Notre Dame | 11 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 11 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 12 | 7 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 13 | 13 | 66 | 28 | 38 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 54 | 25 | 146 | 68 | 78 | 8.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
editCross is the son of former New York Giants tight end Howard Cross.[14][15] He has a twin sister, Bella.[16]
References
edit- ^ Nevils, JC (October 13, 2023). "image caption Midseason Stock Report: Tyler Baron, Howard Cross III, and the Top Draft Risers of 2023". Mike Farrell Sports. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Hansen, Eric. "Defensive end Howard Cross III perpetuates Notre Dame football commitment spree". The Herald-Times. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Pope, LaMond (April 22, 2018). "Notre Dame adds 4-star defensive lineman Howard Cross III to 2019 class". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "Howard Cross III 2019 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "Howard Cross III 2020 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Clark, Geoffrey (November 20, 2021). "Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech: Fourth-Quarter Analysis". Fighting Irish Wire. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "Howard Cross III 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Burlage, Todd (September 10, 2022). "Game balls: Five players who starred for Notre Dame in the loss to Marshall". On3.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "Howard Cross III 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Berardino, Mike. "'Fast-Hands Howard' Cross has been a hard-to-block revelation for Notre Dame football". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "Analysis: Ailing Howard Cross III lifts Notre Dame football past Duke". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Driskell, Bryan (October 17, 2023). "Audric Estime, Joe Alt and Howard Cross Earn Midseason All-American Honors". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ "HOWARD CROSS III DL NOTRE DAME". nfldraftbuzz.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Schultz, Nick (October 3, 2023). "Howard Cross III reveals in-game advice his father gave him playing sick vs. Duke". On3.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Cooper, Darren. "Notre Dame-bound Howard Cross III, of St. Joseph, not held down by family name". North Jersey.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
- ^ Stephenson, Creg (December 31, 2020). "Howard Cross: Alabama-Notre Dame will be 'pretty cool'". al.com.