Kyle Elliot Howkins (born 4 May 1996) is an English footballer who plays as a centre-back for National League North club Hereford.
He began his career at West Bromwich Albion and enjoyed loan spells at Kidderminster Harriers, Mansfield Town, Cambridge United and Port Vale, before he joined Newport County on a permanent deal in June 2019.
[18][19][20] This led "Stags" boss Adam Murray to sign Alex Iacovitti on loan from Nottingham Forest to provide cover at centre-back.
[4] A hamstring injury kept him of out action for a month, before he made his debut, coming on as a late second-half substitute, in a 2–1 defeat at former club Mansfield Town on 23 September.
[33][34] On 11 June 2019, Howkins joined League Two club Newport County on a two-year contract; "Exiles" manager Michael Flynn said that "Kyle is someone I've kept my eye on for almost over 2 years and even tried signing him on loan in the past.
[38] On 29 November, he had a nasty clash of heads with Maldon & Tiptree striker Charlee Hughes and had a fit after falling to the ground; he suffered a fractured skull and was out of action for six weeks.
[41] Howkins played the opening four games of the 2020–21 campaign before he was sidelined with a hamstring injury and fell out of Michael Flynn's first-team plans, having fallen behind David Longe-King, Matthew Dolan, Mickey Demetriou, Ashley Baker, Scot Bennett and Joe Woodiwiss in the pecking order.
[41] On 21 January 2021, Howkins joined National League side Solihull Moors – managed by former West Brom coach James Shan – on loan for the remainder of the 2020–21 season.
[43][44] After spending just over two years out recovering from an ACL injury, on 7 July 2023, Howkins returned to football at a semi-professional level by signing for National League North club Hereford.