# Chris Hovan

Christopher James Hovan (born May 12, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College. He was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2000 NFL draft and played for that team from 2000 to 2004.
Hovan then played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005 to 2009. He was also a member of the St. Louis Rams in 2010 but spent the entire season on injured reserve.

## Early life

Hovan grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. He is the youngest of three children.
He played high school football at St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland. During his career, he earned many honors and awards, including an honorable mention All-American by USA Today and All-City and All-State by The Plain Dealer. He finished his high school career with a school record 28 career sacks. He also played lacrosse, earning All-State recognition.

## College career

Hovan played college football at Boston College. As a senior, he was an All-American and a semi-finalist for the Lombardi Award. He also became the first player in Boston College history to be named All-Big East three times. He finished his career starting 43 of 45 games, recording 20.5 sacks.

## Professional career
### Minnesota Vikings

Hovan was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings with the 25th overall pick in the 2000 NFL draft. He would go on to play five years for the Vikings, playing in 77 games, recording 192 tackles and 17 sacks.

### Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On April 1, 2005, Hovan signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He had a good first season with the Bucs, helping them win the NFC South and finish as the number one ranked defense. Hovan was released on April 26, 2010.

### St. Louis Rams

On June 9, 2010, Hovan signed with the St. Louis Rams. On August 6, 2010, Hovan was placed on injured reserve due to a back injury, ending his 2010 season.

### NFL statistics

| Year | Team | GP | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions |
| Year | Team | GP | Comb | Solo | Ast | Sack | FF | FR | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD |
| 2000 | MIN | 16 | 46 | 41 | 5 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2001 | MIN | 16 | 43 | 29 | 14 | 6.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 | MIN | 16 | 52 | 38 | 14 | 5.5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2003 | MIN | 16 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2004 | MIN | 13 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2005 | TB | 16 | 45 | 35 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2006 | TB | 16 | 51 | 40 | 11 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2007 | TB | 16 | 48 | 31 | 17 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2008 | TB | 15 | 43 | 36 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | TB | 16 | 33 | 26 | 7 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 156 | 408 | 306 | 102 | 22.0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |

## Coaching career

Hovan was named assistant strength & conditioning coach for the South Florida Bulls in 2011.
Hovan was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League as their defensive line coach on January 9, 2013. He was the defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL for the 2013 season.
Hovan coached in the AFL with the Tampa Bay Storm for three seasons.
From 2017 to 2018, Hovan was the co-defensive coordinator for the Warriors football team at Steinbrenner High School in Lutz, Florida.

## Legal issues

On April 28, 2015, Hovan was charged with fleeing the scene of a crash. A month later he was charged with a DUI in Hillsborough County. In December 2018 Hovan was charged with domestic abuse against his wife. This charge led to him being court ordered to stay away from his family, house, and any of his children's sports events. On November 31, 2020, Hovan was arrested and booked for another DUI this time with his son in the passenger seat. He reportedly had a BAC of .31 which is almost four times higher than Florida's .08 limit. Additionally, in 2021 Hovan received a Risk Protection Order, which he was initially not compliant with.