Howard Edward Cross III (born July 31, 2001) is an American football defensive tackle for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Howard Cross III
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – No. 56
PositionDefensive tackle
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born: (2001-07-31) July 31, 2001 (age 23)
Paramus, New Jersey, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight288 lb (131 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolSaint Joseph Regional (Montvale, New Jersey)

Early life and high school

edit

Cross 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

edit

As 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

edit

Cross is the son of former New York Giants tight end Howard Cross.[14][15] He has a twin sister, Bella.[16]

References

edit
  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Hansen, Eric. "Defensive end Howard Cross III perpetuates Notre Dame football commitment spree". The Herald-Times. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  3. ^ Pope, LaMond (April 22, 2018). "Notre Dame adds 4-star defensive lineman Howard Cross III to 2019 class". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Howard Cross III 2019 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  5. ^ "Howard Cross III 2020 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  6. ^ Clark, Geoffrey (November 20, 2021). "Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech: Fourth-Quarter Analysis". Fighting Irish Wire. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Howard Cross III 2021 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Howard Cross III 2022 Game Logs". Sports Reference. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Berardino, Mike. "'Fast-Hands Howard' Cross has been a hard-to-block revelation for Notre Dame football". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  11. ^ "Analysis: Ailing Howard Cross III lifts Notre Dame football past Duke". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  12. ^ Driskell, Bryan (October 17, 2023). "Audric Estime, Joe Alt and Howard Cross Earn Midseason All-American Honors". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  13. ^ "HOWARD CROSS III DL NOTRE DAME". nfldraftbuzz.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Cooper, Darren. "Notre Dame-bound Howard Cross III, of St. Joseph, not held down by family name". North Jersey.com. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Stephenson, Creg (December 31, 2020). "Howard Cross: Alabama-Notre Dame will be 'pretty cool'". al.com.
edit