Texas A&M’s Cashius Howell sacks Utah State

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Even Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell was in awe Saturday afternoon after securing his third sack in as many snaps against Utah State before a raucous crowd at Kyle Field. 

“I don’t want to say I didn’t believe it, but it was like, ‘Dang, did I really just (do) that?’” he said after Texas A&M beat Utah State 44-22. “It was definitely a good feeling for sure.”

On an afternoon in which receiver KC Concepcion scored two touchdowns and Mario Craver had a 72-yard touchdown reception, the loudest roar from the crowd of 100,026 was incited by Howell’s defensive dominance. 

“Cashius Howell, man, he’s a dog,” Concepcion said. “He brought the energy back. “And whenever you see one of your teammates go out there and put his body on the line and make three plays back-to-back, it’s an amazing feeling.”

‘Fried him’

Howell delivered a feat not seen in Division I FBS football since the University of Wisconsin’s Jack Cichy had three consecutive sacks against USC at the 2015 Holiday Bowl. 

https://twitter.com/AggieFootball/status/1964386208932389312

Utah State began the possession Howell ruined on the 25-yard line. With No. 19 ranked Texas A&M (2-0) leading 17-6 in the second quarter, Cashius Howell quickly brought down quarterback Bryson Barnes for a 6-yard loss after dominating left tackle Jake Eichorn. On the next play, Eichorn was no match again for Howell, who sacked Barnes for a 7-yard loss. 

“Fried him,” Howell said of his second sack. “Fried turkeys, honestly.”

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In what he called the “flow state,” Howell once again got past Eichorn and sacked Barnes for an 8-yard loss. 

The sacks accounted for a combined loss of 21 yards. It was a quick three-and-out with Howell almost single-handedly ending Utah State’s drive. Howell offered insight into the mindset behind his performance in what he calls the “flow state.” 

One-man Wrecking Crew

“Just kind of like where you’re not necessarily thinking about much,” Howell said. “You’re just letting your body do what your body does. You kind of just, I guess, kind of go off of pure instinct.  So that’s just kind of how I feel.”

“After I got the first one, it was kind of the next play. And then I got the second one. It was like, I kind of started to feel myself a little bit. Like I said before, the only way I could describe it is like a flow state. And I just told myself in my head, ‘if he throws it, I’m fixing to get home, I got to get home.’

Howell became the first Texas A&M player to record three sacks in a game since Edgerrin Cooper in 2023. It was a historic performance by Howell, who finished with four tackles. The Aggies finished with six sacks, including the first career sack from freshman Marco Jones.

https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1964397366649229700

On offense, the Aggies accounted for 554 yards. Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who exited in the third quarter after taking a hit, threw for 220 yards and four touchdowns. Reed also rushed for 66 yards.

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said that he expects Reed to be ready next Saturday when the Aggies visit Notre Dame. The story of the afternoon, though, was Howell.

“I think that’s a first for me,” Elko said of seeing a player get three sacks in consecutive plays. “Yeah, I thought that was really good, but obviously that’ll be something that’s going to be hard to beat. Three consecutive sacks on three consecutive plays.”