After trudging through the freshman B-team season at Rockhurst High School, Cashius Howell made up his mind: No more football. This was no snap reaction. The games were done, shoulder pads turned in, and just one more box to be checked: telling Dad.Sitting at his newly marked No. 55 locker stall at Paycor Stadium, the Bengals’ top selection in the 2026 NFL draft recounts the scene from nine years prior like it was last week.The apartment complex parking garage just outside Kansas City was quiet as he gathered the guts it took to look Dad in the eye and say it out loud.”I’m going to give football up,” Howell said.Cincinnati’s newest edge rusher swears that if his dad shrugged and went back to worrying about his own problems as a young father, this conversation directly across from Joe Burrow’s locker never would have happened.”He lets me quit?” Howell asked aloud to himself. “I wouldn’t be here.”Max Howell believes it was just one of those moments. Be a dad. Be a parent. He can’t just give up.”That’s not what Howells do,” Max Howell started in reply to his son. That is what father and son both remember most from the talk that helped set in motion a near-impossible dream and later the end of a self-inflicted nightmare.Over the past 12 months, the person who counted on Texas A&M’s Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year the most was nowhere to be found.A late bloomerCashius Howell turned into a quarterback wrecker on Friday nights for the Rockhurst High Hawklets. The Catholic Jesuit all-boys powerhouse, half an hour south of downtown Kansas City, traditionally played football against the big boys in Missouri, Class 6A, and holds the honor of the most postseason victories in state history. A 14-sack junior season, good for the second-most in program history, put Howell on the college recruiting radar. However, senior season in 2020 ended with a playoff forfeit due to COVID-19 and left Howell with a decision: Try to sneak onto a major college program’s roster or take the offer on the table from a handful of mid-majors?”Dad, I am not going to be a practice dummy for anybody,” Max Howell recalled his son saying at the time. “‘I want to go somewhere where I can play right now.'” With the help of a mutual connection to former University of Michigan quarterback and then-Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler, Howell packed up for the 700-mile ride to Northwest Ohio. Growing up without a father figure, Max Howell beamed with pride. Once a talented ice hockey player, a move from Kansas City to Toledo to chase college hockey dreams eventually led to a roster spot at Miami University. There were good memories in Ohio. For Cashius Howell, it was not a fast start. First, a redshirt freshman season. Sophomore year at home started unceremoniously, watching four quarters and all seven overtimes of the Falcons’ mind-bending affair against Eastern Kentucky on the sidelines. The fall of 2023 arrived, and Howell returned to the field nearly unrecognizable. Switching to number zero and suddenly armed with a 6-foot-4, 235-pound physique, the redshirt sophomore turned in 9.5 sacks — good for the top number in the MAC and a transfer portal offer to take the leap to the SEC with Texas A&M. Big games against Texas and Auburn in his first go-round in College Station opened the door for an even more critical role this past fall.What followed is a box score barrage of sacks (11.5), tackles for loss (14.0), and a mountain of game tape illustrating cat-like closing speed. Quarterbacks attempting to extend plays inside the pocket and out were met with havoc by No. 9 in Aggie Maroon and White.The senior in high school who had to inform the likes of Arkansas State, Ball State and Akron that they were runner-up in the recruiting chase was the 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.But Dad was missing.”It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Max Howell said. “I just felt like I let him down a lot.”A divine momentThis past fall, Max Howell watched Texas A&M games in the “TV room” at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Rino, Oklahoma. On April 16, 2025, Howell was sentenced in federal court for bank fraud and money laundering. These charges were connected to false and fraudulent documentation of expenses for housing development projects in the Kansas City metro area.A 21-month sentence, along with restitution approaching $250,000, was handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes.For 12 months, Howell thought about his son. The maturity and intellect he carried from a young age. The “A” student in nearly every class who carried a fighter’s spirit from his first game of flag football, playing with kids two grades older.It fostered a hunger to make El Rino a turning point forward in life.”To see him do that, it just motivated me to work harder with my relationship with God,” Max Howell said. “I read every real estate book I could. It fueled me. I created a great game plan on what this next chapter of life will be.”While at El Rino, Howell authored a book, “Falling On The Sword,” detailing his lessons learned from 15-plus years in urban property development. It was all moving in a positive direction, but a heavy weight was looming. On April 24, 380 miles northeast of the medium-security prison just outside of Oklahoma City, Cashius Howell paced anxiously among a packed house of friends and family. One selection after his hometown Kansas City Chiefs made their second-round choice, his phone lit up with a Cincinnati area code. It was the Bengals. There were tears from the once die-hard Patrick Mahomes fan. It felt like a perfect fit, and a little extra motivation being passed over by his hometown team would not hurt.Back at El Rino, April 24 marked 373 days since sentencing, and special nachos were being passed around as fellow inmates watched NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce that, with the 41st pick, the Bengals were selecting a defensive end from Texas A&M.Cashius Howell.”The guys there were great,” Max Howell said. “They celebrated — the whole compound really celebrated Cashius as well as you possibly could in a (prison) camp.”Howell spoke to his son briefly over the phone later that evening and momentarily felt a lift.Still, there are moments that only happen once, and quickly, “distraught” is the only word that could describe the state Howell was spiraling in.Approximately an hour and a half after the draft news is when Howell believes he witnessed his son’s inspiration materialize when he needed it most.”That evening I went out to the track and really had a divine moment,” Howell said. “There was a majestic sunset, and I just felt the hand of God touch over me and say, ‘Everything is fine. You are going to be fine. Your son is surrounded by love.'”It ended up being a great day for him around great people, and I was just very thankful for that.””We Are Howell’s”After more than one year apart, this Father’s Day weekend, Cashius and Max Howell reunited for the first time. Tears were shed. Just days after arriving in Cincinnati for the beginning of his professional football journey, Cashius Howell received a FaceTime. Max Howell was granted an early release at El Rino, and the NFL rookie season ahead suddenly looked completely different. Dad would be there. Encouraged by his initial reception by city and neighborhood officials, Max Howell says he is eager to take on the challenges that still lie ahead and re-prove himself as an entrepreneur in the Kansas City area. The gift of being present for a few hours on Sundays will not be lost on this father. “In terms of him inspiring me, is hands down the most inspiring opportunity that I could have as a human being,” Max Howell said.“It is just such a blessing to have such a great kid.”

CINCINNATI —

After trudging through the freshman B-team season at Rockhurst High School, Cashius Howell made up his mind: No more football.

This was no snap reaction. The games were done, shoulder pads turned in, and just one more box to be checked: telling Dad.

Sitting at his newly marked No. 55 locker stall at Paycor Stadium, the Bengals’ top selection in the 2026 NFL draft recounts the scene from nine years prior like it was last week.

The apartment complex parking garage just outside Kansas City was quiet as he gathered the guts it took to look Dad in the eye and say it out loud.

“I’m going to give football up,” Howell said.

Cincinnati’s newest edge rusher swears that if his dad shrugged and went back to worrying about his own problems as a young father, this conversation directly across from Joe Burrow’s locker never would have happened.

“He lets me quit?” Howell asked aloud to himself. “I wouldn’t be here.”

Max Howell believes it was just one of those moments. Be a dad. Be a parent. He can’t just give up.

“That’s not what Howells do,” Max Howell started in reply to his son. That is what father and son both remember most from the talk that helped set in motion a near-impossible dream and later the end of a self-inflicted nightmare.

Over the past 12 months, the person who counted on Texas A&M’s Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year the most was nowhere to be found.

A late bloomer

Cashius Howell turned into a quarterback wrecker on Friday nights for the Rockhurst High Hawklets. The Catholic Jesuit all-boys powerhouse, half an hour south of downtown Kansas City, traditionally played football against the big boys in Missouri, Class 6A, and holds the honor of the most postseason victories in state history.

A 14-sack junior season, good for the second-most in program history, put Howell on the college recruiting radar.

However, senior season in 2020 ended with a playoff forfeit due to COVID-19 and left Howell with a decision: Try to sneak onto a major college program’s roster or take the offer on the table from a handful of mid-majors?

“Dad, I am not going to be a practice dummy for anybody,” Max Howell recalled his son saying at the time. “‘I want to go somewhere where I can play right now.'”

With the help of a mutual connection to former University of Michigan quarterback and then-Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler, Howell packed up for the 700-mile ride to Northwest Ohio.

Growing up without a father figure, Max Howell beamed with pride. Once a talented ice hockey player, a move from Kansas City to Toledo to chase college hockey dreams eventually led to a roster spot at Miami University. There were good memories in Ohio.

For Cashius Howell, it was not a fast start. First, a redshirt freshman season. Sophomore year at home started unceremoniously, watching four quarters and all seven overtimes of the Falcons’ mind-bending affair against Eastern Kentucky on the sidelines.

The fall of 2023 arrived, and Howell returned to the field nearly unrecognizable. Switching to number zero and suddenly armed with a 6-foot-4, 235-pound physique, the redshirt sophomore turned in 9.5 sacks — good for the top number in the MAC and a transfer portal offer to take the leap to the SEC with Texas A&M.

Big games against Texas and Auburn in his first go-round in College Station opened the door for an even more critical role this past fall.

What followed is a box score barrage of sacks (11.5), tackles for loss (14.0), and a mountain of game tape illustrating cat-like closing speed. Quarterbacks attempting to extend plays inside the pocket and out were met with havoc by No. 9 in Aggie Maroon and White.

The senior in high school who had to inform the likes of Arkansas State, Ball State and Akron that they were runner-up in the recruiting chase was the 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

But Dad was missing.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” Max Howell said. “I just felt like I let him down a lot.”

A divine moment

This past fall, Max Howell watched Texas A&M games in the “TV room” at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Rino, Oklahoma.

On April 16, 2025, Howell was sentenced in federal court for bank fraud and money laundering. These charges were connected to false and fraudulent documentation of expenses for housing development projects in the Kansas City metro area.

A 21-month sentence, along with restitution approaching $250,000, was handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes.

For 12 months, Howell thought about his son. The maturity and intellect he carried from a young age. The “A” student in nearly every class who carried a fighter’s spirit from his first game of flag football, playing with kids two grades older.

It fostered a hunger to make El Rino a turning point forward in life.

“To see him do that, it just motivated me to work harder with my relationship with God,” Max Howell said. “I read every real estate book I could. It fueled me. I created a great game plan on what this next chapter of life will be.”

While at El Rino, Howell authored a book, “Falling On The Sword,” detailing his lessons learned from 15-plus years in urban property development. It was all moving in a positive direction, but a heavy weight was looming.

On April 24, 380 miles northeast of the medium-security prison just outside of Oklahoma City, Cashius Howell paced anxiously among a packed house of friends and family. One selection after his hometown Kansas City Chiefs made their second-round choice, his phone lit up with a Cincinnati area code.

It was the Bengals.

There were tears from the once die-hard Patrick Mahomes fan. It felt like a perfect fit, and a little extra motivation being passed over by his hometown team would not hurt.

Back at El Rino, April 24 marked 373 days since sentencing, and special nachos were being passed around as fellow inmates watched NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce that, with the 41st pick, the Bengals were selecting a defensive end from Texas A&M.

Cashius Howell.

“The guys there were great,” Max Howell said. “They celebrated — the whole compound really celebrated Cashius as well as you possibly could in a (prison) camp.”

Howell spoke to his son briefly over the phone later that evening and momentarily felt a lift.

Still, there are moments that only happen once, and quickly, “distraught” is the only word that could describe the state Howell was spiraling in.

Approximately an hour and a half after the draft news is when Howell believes he witnessed his son’s inspiration materialize when he needed it most.

“That evening I went out to the track and really had a divine moment,” Howell said. “There was a majestic sunset, and I just felt the hand of God touch over me and say, ‘Everything is fine. You are going to be fine. Your son is surrounded by love.’

“It ended up being a great day for him around great people, and I was just very thankful for that.”

“We Are Howell’s”

After more than one year apart, this Father’s Day weekend, Cashius and Max Howell reunited for the first time.

Tears were shed.

Just days after arriving in Cincinnati for the beginning of his professional football journey, Cashius Howell received a FaceTime. Max Howell was granted an early release at El Rino, and the NFL rookie season ahead suddenly looked completely different.

Dad would be there.

Encouraged by his initial reception by city and neighborhood officials, Max Howell says he is eager to take on the challenges that still lie ahead and re-prove himself as an entrepreneur in the Kansas City area.

The gift of being present for a few hours on Sundays will not be lost on this father.

“In terms of him inspiring me, [Cashius] is hands down the most inspiring opportunity that I could have as a human being,” Max Howell said.

“It is just such a blessing to have such a great kid.”