LaRod Stephens-Howling (born April 26, 1987) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

and

kickoff returner A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another position ...

. He was drafted by the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division, an ...

in the seventh round of the

2009 NFL Draft The 2009 NFL Draft was the seventy-fourth annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 25 and 26, 2009. ...

. He played college football at

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. He was also a member of the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

. Stephens-Howling now serves as the running backs coach for

Robert Morris Colonials football : ''For information on all Robert Morris University sports, see Robert Morris Colonials'' The Robert Morris Colonials football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the Robert Morris University located in the U.S. state of Pen ...

Early years

Stephens-Howling is a native of

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

. He attended

Greater Johnstown High School Greater Johnstown High School is a public high school in the eastern United States, located in between the neighborhoods of Moxham, 8th Ward, and Hornerstown in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. It is the only high school operated by the Greater Johnstown ...

, where he competed in football,

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

, and track.

College career

Stephens-Howling played college football for the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

Panthers. He was the starter for the Panthers before being replaced by future NFL Pro Bowl running back

LeSean McCoy LeSean Kamel McCoy (born July 12, 1988), nicknamed "Shady", is an American former football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in t ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Stephens-Howling was drafted by the

in the seventh round of the

with the 240th overall pick. In addition to playing running back, Stephens-Howling returned kickoffs for the team. On November 1, 2009, Stephens-Howling recorded his first NFL touchdown on a 14-yard reception from quarterback

Kurt Warner Kurtis Eugene Warner (born June 22, 1971) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals. His career, which saw him ascend ...

against the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

. On November 29, 2009, Stephens-Howling returned a

Rob Bironas James Robert Douglas Bironas (January 29, 1978 – September 20, 2014) was an American football placekicker who played the majority of his professional career with the Tennessee Titans. He played college football for Auburn University and Geor ...

kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

. On September 26, 2010, Stephens-Howling returned the opening kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown against the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

. On October 31, 2010, he scored his first rushing touchdown after bouncing out near the sidelines and running 30 yards against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

. On December 4, 2011, Stephens-Howling scored the game-winning touchdown in overtime against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divis ...

on a 52-yard reception from

Kevin Kolb Kevin Benjamin Kolb (; born August 24, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Arizona Cardinals and the Buffalo Bills ...

. He became a

restricted free agent A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

following the 2011 season, but was re-signed by the Cardinals on April 16, 2012.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Stephens-Howling signed with the

on April 26, 2013. At the beginning of the 2013 season against the

, he tore his ACL and missed the rest of the season after undergoing surgery.

Personal life

in 2017, Stephens-Howling joined Robert Morris' coaching staff as the running backs coach.

References

External links

Robert Morris Colonials coaching bioLaRod Stephens-Howling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens-Howling, LaRod 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Players of American football from Pennsylvania American football running backs American football return specialists Pittsburgh Panthers football players Arizona Cardinals players Pittsburgh Steelers players