Markus Howell (born April 21, 1975) is the receivers coach for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is a former professional Canadian football wide receiver and kick returner who played for 11 years for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Ottawa Renegades, and Calgary Stampeders. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2000 CFL Draft by the Blue Bombers. He won a Grey Cup championship in 2008. He played college football at Texas Southern.

Markus Howell
Edmonton Elks
Howell with the Elks in 2023
Born: (1975-04-21) April 21, 1975 (age 48)
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Career information
CFL statusNational
Position(s)Run Game Coordinator
Receivers coach
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight185 lb (84 kg)
CollegeTexas Southern
CFL Draft2000 / Round: 4 / Pick: 25
Drafted byWinnipeg Blue Bombers
Career history
As coach
2011Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Linebackers
20122015Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Receivers
20162017Saskatchewan Roughriders
Receivers
20182019BC Lions
Pass Game Coordinator / Receivers
20202021Toronto Argonauts
Pass Game Coordinator / Receivers
2022–presentEdmonton Elks
Run Game Coordinator / Receivers
As player
20002004Winnipeg Blue Bombers
2005Ottawa Renegades
20062009Calgary Stampeders
2010Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Professional career edit

Winnipeg Blue Bombers edit

Howell was drafted in the fourth round (25th overall) in the 2000 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[1] As a rookie in 2000, Howell had 258 receiving yards and one touchdown.[2] In 2001, he recorded 307 yards and a touchdown then in 2002 he had 415 yards and a touchdown.[2] Howell had 20 catches for 282 yards and recorded the highest touchdown mark of his Winnipeg career with two.[2] His final season in Winnipeg, he had two catches for 17 yards.[2] He left as a free agent after the 2004 season.[1]

Ottawa Renegades edit

The Ottawa Renegades signed Howell as a free agent in 2005.[1] He played only one season in Ottawa, before they disbanded.[1] In his only year there he had 25 catches for 417 yards with a career-high three touchdowns.[2]

 
Howell catching a pass on October 27, 2007.

Calgary Stampeders edit

He was selected by the Calgary Stampeders in the CFL Dispersal Draft.[1] In 2006, Howell recorded twenty catches for 340 yards and a touchdown.[2] Howell played in 17 games in 2007, mainly playing on special teams with sporadic appearances on offence.[1] He led Calgary in all-purpose yards with 1,299 and he returned 24 kickoffs for a combined total of 475 yards.[1] Against Saskatchewan he returned a punt for 96 yards which was a season high.[1] In 2008, Howell was used as a backup defensive back and also played on special teams.[1] Against the Montreal Alouettes on July 10, he brought his career kickoff return yardage to over 1,500 yards.[1] On August 2, he returned a punt against Saskatchewan which brought his career punt return yardage to over 1,500.[1] Then, on October 13, once again against the Roughriders he played in his 150th career game.

Howell retired on May 10, 2010.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers edit

On July 12, 2010, it was announced that Howell had signed a contract with his former team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.[3] After one season of play with the Bombers, Howell announced his second retirement on May 9, 2011.[4]

Coaching career edit

Soon after his retirement announcement, Howell joined the Blue Bombers coaching staff for the 2011 season.[5]

On February 6, 2020, it was announced that Howell had joined the Toronto Argonauts as the team's receivers coach.[6] The 2020 CFL season was cancelled, but Howell coached for the Argonauts in 2021 where the team finished in first place in the East Division.

On January 4, 2022, Howell formally joined the Edmonton Elks as the team's run game coordinator and receivers coach.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "#88 Markus Howell". Calgary Stampeders. Archived from the original on 2009-08-27. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "CFL.ca bio". Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on 2009-07-07. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  3. ^ http://www.bluebombers.com/article/bombers-sign-non-import-howell Bombers sign non-import Howell
  4. ^ "Bomber Markus Howell retires from the CFL | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
  5. ^ https://www.cfl.ca/article/howell-joins-bomber-coaching-staff Howell joins Bomber coaching staff
  6. ^ "Argos announce 2020 coaching staff". Toronto Argonauts. February 6, 2020.
  7. ^ "Elks announce key offensive pieces of 2022 coaching staff". Edmonton Elks. January 4, 2022.

External links edit

  Media related to Markus Howell at Wikimedia Commons