Howard Cross III

Cross signed with the Bengals as a college free agent in May, after compiling a noteworthy career as an interior defensive lineman at the University of Notre Dame ... He was a key member of the Fighting Irish defense that held 12 of its opponents to 17 or fewer points in 2024, helping lead the team to a 14-2 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship game ... Spent his final three seasons playing for current Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden, who served as Notre Dame's DC from 2022-24 ... Played in 65 games with 35 starts across six seasons (2019-24) with the Fighting Irish, and totaled 169 tackles (80 solos), 19.5 TFLs, 11 sacks, four PDs and three FFs ... His father, Howard Cross Jr., played 13 NFL seasons as a TE with the N.Y. Giants (1989-2001), and was a member of the Giants team that won Super Bowl XXV following the 1990 season.

Cross signed with the Bengals as a college free agent in May, after compiling a noteworthy career as an interior defensive lineman at the University of Notre Dame ... He was a key member of the Fighting Irish defense that held 12 of its opponents to 17 or fewer points in 2024, helping lead the team to a 14-2 record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff National Championship game ... Spent his final three seasons playing for current Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden, who served as Notre Dame's DC from 2022-24 ... Played in 65 games with 35 starts across six seasons (2019-24) with the Fighting Irish, and totaled 169 tackles (80 solos), 19.5 TFLs, 11 sacks, four PDs and three FFs ... His father, Howard Cross Jr., played 13 NFL seasons as a TE with the N.Y. Giants (1989-2001), and was a member of the Giants team that won Super Bowl XXV following the 1990 season.

Career transactions:

Signed with Cincinnati as college free agent on 5-9-25.

College highlights:

Spent six seasons (2019-24) at Notre Dame ... Played in 65 career games with 35 starts.

2024—Played and started 13 games ... Missed three games in November due to injury ... Named second-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) ... Totaled 28 tackles (14 solos), 5.5 TFLs, four sacks and one PD ... Key member of Notre Dame defense that ranked second nationally both in points allowed per game (14.3) and total yards allowed per game (298.3) ... Logged two sacks on Oct. 12 vs. Stanford ... Notched three solo tackles in College Football Playoff semifinal on Jan. 9 vs. Penn State.

2023—Named second-team All-American by the Associated Press ... Started all 13 games at NT ... Totaled career-high 66 tackles (second-most on team), with seven TFLs and two sacks ... Added two PDs and two FFs ... Named Chuck Bednarik Award Player of the Week, awarded to nation's top defensive performance, for his showing on Sept. 30 at Duke, when he posted a career-best 13 tackles with 3.5 TFLs, one sack and two FFs.

2022—Played in 12 games with seven starts ... Tallied 33 tackles (14 solos), 2.5 TFLs, two sacks, one PD and one FF ... His 33 stops led Notre Dame's interior defensive linemen ... Logged the team's first sack of the season in season opener on Sept. 3 at Ohio State, when he brought down QB C.J. Stroud for five-yard loss ... Registered season-high 11 tackles with a half-TFL on Sept. 10 vs. Marshall.

2021—Played in 11 games with two starts ... Totaled 22 tackles (13 solos), with 4.5 TFLs and three sacks ... Recorded first career sack on Nov. 13 at Virginia ... Followed up with first multi-sack game on Nov. 20 vs. Georgia Tech.

2020—Saw action in all 12 games ... Posted 13 tackles (eight solos) ... Had season-high three solo stops on Dec. 5 vs. Syracuse.

2019—Played in four games as a true freshman ... Recorded seven tackles (three solos) ... Credited with five tackles on Nov. 15 vs. Navy.

High school:

Attended Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J. ... As a senior in 2018, he was named the NJ.com State Player of the Year and helped lead Saint Joseph to the New Jersey State Championship ... Senior season stats included 76 tackles, 22 TFLs, 9.5 sacks, two PDs, one FF and two FRs ... High school career stats included 218 tackles, 45 TFLs, 22 sacks, two PDs, two FFs and four FRs.

Personal:

Hometown is Paramus, N.J. ... Earned bachelor's degree in industrial and product design from Notre Dame in 2024 ... Father, Howard Cross Jr., played TE for the N.Y. Giants for 13 seasons (1989-2001), and was a member of the Giants' Super Bowl XXV team in the '90 season.

Last Updated July 2025