Will Howard shares his feelings on Ohio State's quarterback battle
Will Howard won’t be handed the starting quarterback position in his first season at Ohio State. He’ll have to fight for it. During Ohio State’s Pro Day, the Kansas State transfer revealed where he stands in the QB1 competition.
“I feel good about it,” Howard said. “I’m still just taking it day by day and I’m not trying to get ahead of myself and look at the end goal because the day in front of me is what’s most important. (Wednesday), it was throwing for Pro Day and getting ready for this and tomorrow it’s day four, so I’m just trying to get better every single day.”
If Howard continues to improve this offseason, he’ll be dangerous come fall. Howard touted a 14-11 record in 25 career starts at Kansas State. His best season was in the 2023 campaign when he notched 2,643 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing a career-high 61.3% of his passes.
He boasts 5,786 passing yards, 48 touchdowns and 25 interceptions in his career. Despite Howard’s immense success, he hasn’t lost his desire to grow.
“The thing is, it’s never going to be perfect,” Howard said. “Some of the routes that we run are a little different. The timing is a little different obviously getting used to the speed of the guys here. But I think I’m adjusting well, and I think I felt like in week one before spring break, it was like practice one, and I felt like I was kind of just feeling my way through it and then practice two I felt so much more comfortable.
“Every day, it’s just going to get more like that and I’m going to be able to just really start — rather than kind of just throwing the ball — really started ripping it because I really understand it.”
Will Howard faces stiff competition at QB
Howard isn’t the only rapidly improving. Ohio State has perhaps the most loaded quarterback unit in the country. Along with Howard, Ohio State has redshirt sophomore Devin Brown, who was a former five-star prospect.
Additionally, the team added freshman five-star recruit Julian Sayin and first-year four-star Air Noland. Of course, Ohio State’s QB unit also still includes second-year talent Lincoln Kienholz, who received significant minutes in the Buckeyes’ loss against Missouriin the Cotton Bowl.
Howard has his work cut out for him. Nevertheless, it’s clear he doesn’t plan on backing down from the challenge.