Texas Tech University Athletics
2026 Spring Football Roster
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Jersey Number 79
Howard Sampson
- Position:
- Offensive Line
- Height:
- 6-8
- Weight:
- 330
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Houston, Texas
- High School:
- Humble
CAREER AWARDS & HONORS
2025 SEASON (JUNIOR)
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
HIGH SCHOOL
- All-Big 12 Third Team (2025, Sr.)
- PFF All-Big 12 Team (2025, Sr.)
- DCTF All-Texas College First Team (2025, Sr.)
- Bruce Feldman’s College Football Freaks List (No. 80) (2025, Sr.)
- Shrine Bowl 1000 (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason DCTF All-Texas College first team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Phil Steele All-Big 12 first team (2025, Sr.)
- Preseason Athlon All-Big 12 second team (2025, Sr.)
- All-ACC Honorable Mention (2024, So.)
2025 SEASON (JUNIOR)
- An immediate impact up front, bolstering Texas Tech’s offensive line at left tackle … part of an offensive line that utilized the same starting five in all 14 games on the year … one of seven Red Raiders on the offensive side of the ball to start in all 14 games and one of 15 players on the team to do so.
- Received the highest overall offensive grade of any Texas Tech starting offensive lineman at 72.3 by Pro Football Focus … overall grade was boosted by an 82.3 grade as a pass blocker, which ranked third on the team behind only center Sheridan Wilson (90.9) and right guard Davion Carter (84.4) … had a 70.5 grade as a run blocker as well by PFF … marked the highest PFF grades of his career in all three areas.
- Allowed four sacks on the season and 14 pressures from his left tackle spot over 479 pass-blocking opportunities … marked the fewest sacks and pressures surrendered since becoming a starter at North Carolina in 2024 … all four sacks given up came against either a Big 12 opponent or in the Capital One Orange Bowl versus Oregon (1/1).
- Credited with 926 offensive snaps by PFF, which ranked fourth on the team … all but one snap came at left tackle, giving him more than 1,800 snaps at the position entering his senior season in 2026 … marked the most snaps in a single season of his career.
- Key addition to a Red Raider offense that ranked seventh nationally in scoring at an impressive 39.4 points per game … marked the Red Raiders’ single-season scoring average since 2016 when Patrick Mahomes II was finishing his three-year career in Lubbock … the Red Raiders were also 10th nationally for total offense at 461.4 yards per game behind a balanced attack that had Texas Tech ranked 15th nationally in passing and 33rd in rushing.
- AWARDS AND HONORS: an All-Big 12 third team selection following the season by the conference coaches … recognized on the All-Big 12 Team by Pro Football Focus, which uses its grading system in determining awards … tabbed to the All-Texas first team by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football … recognized for his potential ability at the pro level prior to the season as part of the Shrine Bowl 1,000 list.
PRIOR TO TEXAS TECH
- Arrived at Texas Tech after playing two seasons at North Texas (2022-23) and then the 2024 campaign for North Carolina … played in four games at UNT ... in sophomore season at North Carolina, started all 12 games for the Tar Heels at left tackle, making him one of the top offensive line targets in the transfer portal.
- Joined the Red Raiders prior to the spring of 2025, returning the Texas native to the Lone Star State ... signed with Texas Tech with two seasons of eligibility remaining ... rated by ESPN as the No. 2-ranked offensive tackle from the transfer portal and No. 18 portal prospect overall.
- Credited with 911 offensive snaps by Pro Football Focus between his time at UNT and North Carolina … bulk of those snaps – 824 in fact – came as a sophomore in 2024 … combined to allow only seven sacks in 463 pass-blocking opportunities over his career.
- 2024 SEASON (SOPHOMORE at NORTH CAROLINA): tabbed an honorable mention All-ACC selection by the conference coaches in its postseason awards ... started all 12 games at left tackle before entering the transfer portal prior to the Tar Heels' bowl game ... logged over 800 snaps according to Pro Football Focus ... received a 70.3 overall grade by the publication and a 73.3 grade as a pass blocker … surrendered five sacks over 423 opportunities … blocked for Omarion Hampton, who ranked second in the FBS in rushing yardage ... made first career start on Aug. 29 at Minnesota.
- 2023 SEASON (REDSHIRT FRESHMAN at NORTH TEXAS): played in two games as a redshirt freshman with the Mean Green ... saw action in each of the final two games of the season which was at Tulsa (11/18) and at home against UAB (11/25) ... combined to play in 83 snaps over those two games, all at left tackle.
- 2022 SEASON (FRESHMAN at NORTH TEXAS): redshirt season … played in two games as a true freshman ... made collegiate debut against Texas Southern (9/10) and also saw snaps later in the season against FIU (11/5).
HIGH SCHOOL
- Attended Humble High School just north of Houston … named a second team All-District selection as a senior … helped Humble to 11 wins and an appearance in the regional semifinals of the Class 6A Division II playoffs his sophomore season.
- Listed as a three-star prospect by 247Sports for the 2022 class … overlooked recruit who ranked 228th in the state and at No. 172 among offensive tackles nationally by the publication … chose North Texas out of high school over offers from Grambling, Texas Southern and Texas State.
PERSONAL
- Howard Sampson III … son of Renetta and Howard Sampson II.
- An interdisciplinary studies major at Texas Tech.
Joey McGuire Media Session
Thursday, March 26
A.J. Holmes Jr. Media Session
Thursday, March 26
Kenny Johnson Media Session
Thursday, March 26
Pro Day: Jacob Rodriguez
Thursday, March 26
