Early years

Hovan grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. played his 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 his college football at Boston College. As a senior he was an All-American and was 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.

Coaching

Hovan was named Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach at South Florida Bulls in 2011.

Hovan was signed by the Montreal Allouettes of the Canadian Football League as Defensive Line Coach on January 9, 2013.

Hovan is the Defensive Line coach for the Tampa Bay Storm of the AFL for the 2013 season.

NFL stats

Year	Team	Games	Combined Tackles	Tackles	Assisted Tackles	Sacks	Forced Fumbles	Fumble Recoveries	Fumble Return Yards	Interceptions	Interception Return Yards	Yards per Interception Return	Longest Interception	Interceptions Returned for Touchdown	Passes Defended
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		156	408	306	102	22.0	2	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	15

[ Source: Wikipedia ]