Jaxon Howard
Minnesota Golden Gophers
79
Solid

Jaxon Howard

Minnesota Golden GophersAverage
DEDefenseSolid
2nd String / Backup

Is Jaxon Howard starting?

Jaxon Howard is listed 2nd string at DE for Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Redshirt junior · #1 · 6'4", 260 lbs

See full Minnesota Golden Gophers depth chart ›
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Depth at DE · Minnesota Golden Gophers

  1. 1090Anthony SmithStarter
  2. 2179Jaxon HowardYou
  3. 34563Sam Macy
  4. 43359Rhett Hlavacka

Minnesota Starting Lineup

Full Minnesota depth chart ›

Top defensive linemen in the Big Ten

Tobi OsunsanmiIndiana · STUDSahir WestUCLA · DEKenneth MerrieweatherIowa · LDE

The Story

Making His Case

A 4-star recruit out of Robbinsdale Cooper, ranked #132 nationally coming out of high school. In 2025: 29 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 4 sacks. That's 6% of the team's production at his spot and 91th-percentile production nationally — good for a 79 overall (Solid tier).

Recruit4★ · #132 Natl2-Yr Total38 tackles · 4 sacksTeam Share6%Percentile91th
Crystal, MN
Jersey
#1
Class
RS JR/TR
Height
6'4"
Weight
260 lbs

Career Stats

SeasonTklTFLSacks
2025295.54
2024900

Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.

Recruiting Profile

Stars
★★★★☆4-star
Composite
0.9435
National Rank
#132
High School
Robbinsdale Cooper
Hometown
Minneapolis, MN

Why this rating?

On a 83-rated defense; 91th-percentile production (×0.94 for competition level) put them +2 vs unit starters → 79.

Team defense (SP+)
83
Rating basis
On-field stats
On-field production
Outperforms 91% of peers
Strength of schedule
Faces easier competition — rating adjusted down (×0.94)
Depth-chart adjustment
+2 for role; −6 depth penalty

2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.

2026 Game Log

Oct 11LPURTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 41-13

Oct 3WMICHTKL 0
TKL
0
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
1

Final W 20-14

Sep 27WWASHTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
1
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 27-24

Sep 19WAKRTKL 2
TKL
2
SOLO
2
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final W 41-7

Sep 12LMSSTTKL 1
TKL
1
SOLO
0
SACK
0
INT
0
PD
0

Final L 38-13

Jaxon Howard's 2026 game-by-game stat log.

The People's Ratings

Is our 79 OVR fair?
79
Solid
Vote to see what thousands of fans think

Team Role

29 tkl · 5.5 TFL · 4 sacks
Usage / Involvement43%
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Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.