Gators PK Chris Howard Talks Debut, 'I Was Just Overwhelmed With Joy'

As an athlete, your opportunities don't always come gift wrapped with a perfect bow tied on top.

No, for Florida Gators placekicker Chris Howard, his didn't come until typical starting kicker Evan McPherson was deemed inactive against Missouri. Howard found out the previous Sunday morning that he would be starting - a moment he has waited four long years to have.

"With all the false positives and stuff, I didn’t know what to expect, but whatever. I was just super excited, man," Howard said shortly after the game on Saturday. "As soon as I got the news, I’ve been waiting for four years now to really start a game, and I was just overwhelmed with joy.”

Overwhelmed with joy was likely an understatement as Howard, a redshirt junior from Ponte Vedra (Fla.), originally joined the team in 2017 as a walk-on, a long shot. Since then, he's attempted just four extra points, making them all in 2019. Aside from that, he hasn't been asked to do much more than kick off from time-to-time.

On Saturday against the Tigers, Howard nailed both of his field goals from distances of 28 and 32 yards, respectively, while hitting all five of his extra points. Howard shared what exactly was going through his mind prior to the first field goal attempt of his career: Just treat it like practice, he said.

“Just this kick is just like any other kick in practice. I really just try to tune all the noise out, I really couldn’t hear anything honestly," said Howard. "I think I was probably the most locked-in I think I’ve ever been in my life, but yeah man, first field goal, hit it, and it was just the best feeling in the world.”

With family in the stands, including his mother, father and older brother, the pressure was certainly on. Howard didn't appear to let that phase him, going on to make the following field goal which slightly longer at 32 yards, but getting those two out of the way early made all the difference, Howard insisted.

"Making those two kicks though for me was huge for my confidence," said Howard. "It was just really big for me honestly, I don’t even know how to put into words almost. First one went in and I was super happy, and then we were lining up for a second one and I just knew that I’d hit the first one, so I said ‘That one’s out of the way and here comes the second one, let’s just do the same thing.'”

He did the same thing and accounted for 11 of Florida's 41 points. When an offense isn't clicking well near the red zone as Florida struggled with early on, a kicker can make all the difference. Typically, the Gators would have McPherson, one of the best kickers in the country, but there didn't appear to be a drop off from him to Howard, something that made his head coach, Dan Mullen, proud.

“He did a great job but we have a lot of confidence in him," Mullen said following the game. "I think the team does because they see them practice all the time. I knew I had a lot of confidence in him and a trust that he was gonna be able to come out there and perform. You have such a great deal with Evan but to have a guy come in and play like him, I’m really proud of his performance.”

While it is not yet known whether or not the Gators will have McPherson back on Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs, it doesn't appear they'll be in dire straits knowing they'll have Howard waiting in the wings once again.

"I was just overwhelmed with joy.”

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