Howell, Zuhn III Receive SEC Individual Honors
Dec 10, 2025 | Football
BIRMINGHAM – Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell earned SEC Defensive Player of the Year honors and Trey Zuhn III received the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the league's top offensive lineman by vote of the conference head coaches, the SEC office announced Wednesday.
Howell is Texas A&M's first SEC Defensive Player of the Year since the school joined the league in 2012. He's the first Aggie to win top defender honors in any league since NFF Hall of Famer Dat Nguyen won the honor in the Big 12 Conference in 1998. Zuhn is the third Aggie to receive the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, joining Luke Joeckel in 2012 and Jake Matthews in 2013.
The 6-2, 248-pound Howell emerged as the SEC's most-feared pass rusher in 2025 with a league-best 11.5 sacks, while also generating 41 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus. His sack total was the most by an Aggie since current NFL record-setter Myles Garrett posted the same amount in 2014. Additionally, the Kansas City, Missouri, native ranked fourth in the SEC with 14.0 tackles for loss. Making plays all over the field, the redshirt senior finished the regular season with 29 tackles, including 19 solo stops, and also batted down six opponent aerials. He is a finalist for the Lombardi Award and Chuck Bednarik Award.
Zuhn owns the nation's highest pass blocking grade at 96.9 and surrended just a single sack on 382 pass snaps in 12 regular season games, according to PFF. One of the nation's most versatile offensive linemen, the 6-6, 319-pound Zuhn is the only power four conference player with 500-plus snaps at tackle and 100-plus at center. The graduate student from Fort Collins, Colorado, helps pave the way for a Texas A&M offense that averages 454.4 total yards per game. The Aggies have the lone offense ranked in the top 35 nationally in total offense, scoring, rushing, passing, passing efficiency and time of possession. A fixture on the offensive front for five seasons, Zuhn has made 49 career starts and played over 3,000 offensive snaps during his career.
Earning a berth in the College Football Playoff for the first time, the 7th-seeded Aggies (11-1) host the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes (10-2) in a first-round game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Kyle Field. Texas A&M, under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Elko, completed the second 11-win regular season in school history and the first-ever perfect 7-0 home worksheet in 2025.
Howell is Texas A&M's first SEC Defensive Player of the Year since the school joined the league in 2012. He's the first Aggie to win top defender honors in any league since NFF Hall of Famer Dat Nguyen won the honor in the Big 12 Conference in 1998. Zuhn is the third Aggie to receive the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, joining Luke Joeckel in 2012 and Jake Matthews in 2013.
The 6-2, 248-pound Howell emerged as the SEC's most-feared pass rusher in 2025 with a league-best 11.5 sacks, while also generating 41 quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus. His sack total was the most by an Aggie since current NFL record-setter Myles Garrett posted the same amount in 2014. Additionally, the Kansas City, Missouri, native ranked fourth in the SEC with 14.0 tackles for loss. Making plays all over the field, the redshirt senior finished the regular season with 29 tackles, including 19 solo stops, and also batted down six opponent aerials. He is a finalist for the Lombardi Award and Chuck Bednarik Award.
Zuhn owns the nation's highest pass blocking grade at 96.9 and surrended just a single sack on 382 pass snaps in 12 regular season games, according to PFF. One of the nation's most versatile offensive linemen, the 6-6, 319-pound Zuhn is the only power four conference player with 500-plus snaps at tackle and 100-plus at center. The graduate student from Fort Collins, Colorado, helps pave the way for a Texas A&M offense that averages 454.4 total yards per game. The Aggies have the lone offense ranked in the top 35 nationally in total offense, scoring, rushing, passing, passing efficiency and time of possession. A fixture on the offensive front for five seasons, Zuhn has made 49 career starts and played over 3,000 offensive snaps during his career.
Earning a berth in the College Football Playoff for the first time, the 7th-seeded Aggies (11-1) host the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes (10-2) in a first-round game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20 at Kyle Field. Texas A&M, under the direction of second-year head coach Mike Elko, completed the second 11-win regular season in school history and the first-ever perfect 7-0 home worksheet in 2025.
Players Mentioned
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