Ohio State DC Jim Knowles shares his perspective on new starting QB Will Howard

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly were peppered with questions about Will Howard Thursday after Day officially announced Howard as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback.

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was even asked about the Kansas State graduate transfer, too.

“Well, he’s making all the throws,” Knowles said. “I mean, he stands in the pocket. He’s got great vision, arm strength. We got great receivers. He’s putting the ball in places where only the receiver can catch it.

“So, to me, it’s not just the arm strength, but he’s making the pinpoint passes, too.”

Knowles has coached against Howard all offseason, first in spring ball and then in training camp. Plus, long before that, he coached against him in Big 12 competition.

In both 2020 and 2021, Howard started games against Oklahoma State, where Knowles was the defensive coordinator from 2018-21. Knowles’ Cowboys won each of those head-to-heads. They held the Wildcats to only 18 points in the teams’ 2020 meeting, during which Howard completed 10-of-21 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Howard did rush for 125 yards as well as a score that could have tied the game late in the fourth quarter had Kansas State converted the subsequent two-point attempt.

The following year, the Wildcats reached 20 points in the matchup, although Howard completed only 4-of-12 passes for 50 yards, lost a fumbled snap and was in and out of the game because of an injury he suffered.

Knowles moved on from Oklahoma State after nearly helping the Cowboys make the College Football Playoff that season. Howard’s grown since then, notably winning a Big 12 title in 2022 and then totaling 33 touchdowns in 2023.

Now he’s the starting quarterback at Ohio State.

“When you take the aggregate of all the numbers, Will graded out significantly ahead of the other guys in team work,” Day said Thursday, referencing a quarterback competition, mainly between Howard and redshirt sophomore Devin Brown, that started back in spring ball.

“But we’re excited about Will being the starter. Will has really taken command of the offense, I believe. You feel him in the huddle. You feel his experience. He did a really good job of changing his body in the offseason. He’s become a threat both with his legs and his arm. The more he understands what he’s doing out there and what he does, he’s really executing very well.”