Heisman Trophy winner, Super Bowl champion and 11-year NFL veteran Desmond Howard is a college football analyst for ESPN and a member of the 17-time Emmy Award-winning College GameDay Built by The Home Depot.  

Howard joined ESPN and college football’s premier pregame show in 2005. He travels to college campuses each week throughout the season in addition to contributing to ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoff, Heisman Trophy Ceremony, and other major events. He also makes regular appearances on ESPN shows, including SportsCenter, College Football Live, and Get Up.  

Howard’s broadcasting career began in 2003 with Fox Sports as a contributor to The Best Damn Sports Show Period. He also made early appearances on ESPN2’s Cold Pizza before additional television and radio roles helped establish his on-air presence ahead of joining ESPN, where he has become one of college football’s most respected and recognizable analysts.

During his college career at Michigan from 1988-1991, Howard was the first receiver in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring as he set or tied five NCAA records and 12 single-season Michigan records. In 1991, the All-American won the Heisman by the second largest margin in the trophy’s history (85 percent of the vote). He was also awarded the Walter Camp Trophy and the Maxwell Award that year, finishing with 950 receiving yards and 19 touchdown passes. His 138 points (23 touchdowns overall) that season made him the first wide receiver to lead the Big Ten in scoring. By the end of his college career, Howard scored 37 touchdowns.  

The Washington Redskins selected Howard fourth overall in the 1992 NFL Draft. He spent three years with Washington, then moved on to the Jacksonville Jaguars – where he scored the first game-winning touchdown in team history, Green Bay Packers, Oakland Raiders and Detroit Lions before retiring after the 2002 season.  

 Howard had 92 receptions as a wide receiver in his first four pro seasons. His 870 punt return yards in a single season remain an NFL record. With a memorable postseason kickoff return of 99 yards in Super Bowl XXXI in 1997, he became the first and only special teams player to be named Super Bowl MVP. In 1996, Howard led the NFL in punt returns, punt return average and punt returns for touchdowns, while tacking on 460 kickoff return yards and 95 receiving yards on 13 catches. He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2000 for the Lions. 

In 2015, Michigan officially retired Howard’s No. 21. He has been inducted into numerous Halls of Fame, including the College Football Hall of Fame (2011), National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame (2010), University of Michigan Hall of Honor (2008), State of Michigan Sports Hall of Fame (2007), Gator Bowl Hall of Fame (2005) and Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame (2005). 

Howard, who graduated from Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in mass communications, now resides in Miami. His three children also followed in his footsteps to Ann Arbor. His daughter is a 2014 graduate, and his twin sons are both current students.