Howell both talks the talk and walks the walk on his reign of terror

The video went viral.

Seemingly in a fit of rage, Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell warns LSU linemen about an impending reign of terror he intends to inflict.

Then he inflicted it.

Howell twice sacked LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in the Aggies’ 49-25 blowout victory last week. When LSU adjusted protection to slow down Howell, opportunities became available for A&M to post five more sacks.

Howell talked the talk and then walked the walk.

A&M defensive coordinator Jay Bateman seemed to enjoy the talk as much as the walk.

“I absolutely love it,” Bateman said earlier this week. “This is a competitive environment. There’s a certain edge you have to play with. He plays with it.

“If you’re going to play defensive football in the SEC at a really high level, then you’ve got to play with a certain level of attitude and edge. I think Cashius has that.”

That attitude has served Howell well. He’s always intense. Given extra motivation, he can be an absolute terror.

He had that motivation in Baton Rouge, where the Aggies had not won since 1994.

Howell may have even more motivation next week when the No. 3 Aggies travel to face Missouri.

Howell is from Kansas City. He apparently wasn’t recruited by Missouri, so in 2021, he signed with Bowling Green.

Two years later, Howell led with MAC with 9.5 sacks.

Last season at A&M, Howell had four sacks. Now, he has 9.5 to pace the Southeastern Conference. With Howell leading the charge, A&M tops the nation with 32 sacks.

“We made some schematic changes to allow him to rush more, which I’m a big fan of,” Bateman said. “I think that’s really helped him and helped us.”

Somebody better help Missouri freshman quarterback Matt Zollers, who figures to start against the Aggies next week.

Missouri’s offensive line has allowed 18 sacks. Kansas and Massachusetts — yes, UMass — each got four. Auburn got three.

Also, Howell figures to be highly motivated to play in his home state for the first time as a collegian.

LSU can attest to the havoc a highly motivated Howell can wreak.

But then, Bateman said Howell has always been motivated.

“I think he’s a really talented kid, and I think he works really hard at it,” Bateman said. “When you’re really talented and you work really hard at something… then it kind of clicks. That’s what you’re seeing.”