By Alex Boggis, UT Martin Assistant Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Tennessee at Martin football standout Keon Howard has signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.
Howard, a 6-1, 215-pound quarterback from Laurel, Miss. spent one season at UT Martin where he was named Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year in addition to earning All-OVC first team honors. The two-time OVC Offensive Player of the Week and four-time OVC Newcomer of the Week finished as a finalist for the 2021 Walter Payton Award, given out to the nation’s top FCS standout.
In his lone season at UT Martin, Howard guided the team to its first OVC title and playoff berth since 2006 while accounting for 2,285 yards of total offense and 25 touchdowns. He completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 1,811 yard and 15 touchdowns and carried the ball 95 times for 474 yards (5.0 ypc) and 10 scores. He ran for multiple touchdowns in four games and threw for multiple scores in four contests. For the regular season, Howard ranked 24th nationally in rushing touchdowns and 27th in points responsible for/game (13.6) while leading the OVC in points responsible for (150) and total touchdowns (25).
During his record-breaking season he set new program marks by becoming the first quarterback to rush for 10 touchdowns in a single season while also notching the first quadfecta of multiple rushing touchdown performances in a single season at UT Martin.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information