Exclusive: Tulane Green Wave Linebacker's Leadership Carries Powerful Legacy

Tulane Green Wave defensive star Sam Howard sat down with Tulane on SI to discuss the team’s core values and how he exemplifies them on and off the field.

Credit: Tulane Athletics / Football

The Tulane Green Wave linebackers lead the team in sacks and tackles for loss heading into conference play against the USF Bulls, and they’re equally valuable off the field.

That’s been a core trait of each powerful tandem in Tulane’s last four seasons. Nick Anderson and Dorian Williams were the two defensive captains who helped spearhead the greatest single-season turnaround in college football history.

Jon Sumrall wanted a player-led team in his first year as head coach. The amount of roster turnover and departure of veteran leaders was a concern. Transfer linebacker Sam Howard largely filled that void. His natural leadership has been apparent through four games on the sidelines.

Sam Howard sat down with Tulane on Sports Illustrated to discuss his journey to Tulane, how he leads through his values, and the defensive mentality to lock in for conference play. 

Back in July, I ran into one of Tulane’s coaches in the parking lot, and he immediately brought up Howard as a key voice in the offseason. Natural leaders often don’t like to talk about it much, and Sam Howard is as humble as it gets when asked about himself.

“I have values instilled in me through Jesus Christ and through coaches that God put in my life. They’re instilled in my heart. I can't help myself but help other guys to be that way. It’s the little things—energy all the time, cleaning up, things like that. It doesn’t matter if it’s a stranger, somebody I know, family, anybody, I just be myself. That's the best thing I could do coming in, being a new guy, was to be myself.”

Howard cited a variety of factors that influenced his decision to attend Tulane. He was hooked by coach Tayler Polk’s recruiting efforts and what he believed in. Importantly, he resonated with Sumrall’s core values of attitude, toughness, discipline, and love.

Howard has a deep-rooted desire to be part of a family-oriented team. He saw that in the Green Wave, but still sees room to grow for a group still forming their identity.

“I think it is a process, and it's still a process,” he described from summer workouts to now. "We can always improve. But the guys started to understand that everything was done out of love. From an accountability standpoint, everything is out of love. We want to get the team better, so the more and more guys understand that, the better off we'll be, the closer we'll become.”

Their closeness is apparent, especially in the defense's fight to close out in critical moments. In the last three games, that side of the ball has made stops when it counts.

“I think as a defense, we understand that’s our mentality. It is on us. At the end of the day, it's going to come down to us, not the offense or special teams; the defense needs to get the job done. That urgency level picks up when we make mistakes, and we make things harder than they need to be by not doing our job and not finishing plays. We understand, okay, now we have to get the job done. You lock in, and you fall back to the level of your training.”

It hasn't been perfect, and he wisely acknowledged that the defense has made self-inflicted errors. They've also struggled with rushing the passer. Howard recorded 1.5 sacks and tackles for loss last Saturday, and he could be a key blitzer for the team. Tulane faces an evasive quarterback in USF's Byrum Brown, who can extend plays with his arm and legs.

Howard knows they need to get him on the ground and off schedule before the Bulls can get their tempo offense going. It's an opportunity to set the tone in conference play, and the message on defense is succinct.

“Do the little things better than them. Simple as that. Am I in my gap every play? Am I running to the ball? Am I finishing plays? Am I finishing tackles? Am I wrapping my feet on contact? Am I in the post when I’m supposed to be in the post? It's simple things like that. Even preparing up to the game. Am I watching film? Am I watching tape? Am I trying to get better? Get corrections at practice? If you do the little things right, the game will be a byproduct.”

Something Howard has found crucial is the team’s response to adversity: good. It’s been fascinating to watch the psychological effects of a positive response when things go wrong. Howard sees value in that framing.

“I think the mind is stronger than your body at times. I feel like the more you say ‘good’ out loud, your body starts to react to it. Okay, okay, next play, next play. When you don’t say anything and let your mind wander, the negativity starts to sink in. But you just keep saying, Good, good, good. You start thinking about the things you can correct, the things you can get better, and then go capitalize on that.”

One of my first interactions with Howard was when he spoke to reporters during training camp. He paused at the podium, then came to each one of us and shook our hands to introduce himself. It immediately brought back memories of Anderson and Williams, as well as Anderson discussing leaving a legacy at the same podium. When I asked Howard how his team plans to accomplish their own timeline, it was clear he’s already carrying that torch.

“I think living your life is always about legacy. No matter what you're doing, it's all about the people coming behind you and the people who’ve already left. They talk about them all the time—the Dorians, the Nicks—they set the tone. It's up to us to keep it living on, making it better each year.”

“It's for the guys coming up, the younger guys that may be freshmen in high school right now looking to come to Tulane. We're setting the future for them. We're setting the culture for them.”