Will Howard Named Ohio State’s Starting Quarterback
8/16/2024 6:20:00 AM | Football
Graduate transfer from Kansas State has played in 34 games and made 28 starts
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Will Howard has been named the Ohio State Buckeyes' starting quarterback by head coach Ryan Day.
"Will Howard will start our first game against Akron," Day said Thursday after the team's practice session. "He is our starting quarterback. I think Chip [Kelly] has done a great job of rolling our quarterbacks from the first day of spring all the way to now. We're talking 27 or 28 practices, and when you take the aggregate of all the numbers, Will has graded out significantly ahead of the other guys.
"Devin [Brown] right now would be the number two. We still have a big scrimmage on Saturday so these guys – Julian [Sayin], Lincoln [Kienholz], Air [Noland] – are going to continue to work. They're all going to compete and get as many reps as they can. We are currently still rolling three groups so there are still a lot of reps to be going around.
"We are really 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. I think he did a really good job of changing his body in the off-season: he has become a threat with both his arm and his legs. … I know he's excited about leading the team."
Howard is the most experienced of Ohio State's five scholarship quarterbacks with 34 games played and 28 starts at Kansas State University between 2020-23. His six starts the second half of the 2022 season helped the Wildcats win the Big 12 championship and included a championship game win over CFP finalist TCU. Howard was 8-4 as the team's starting quarterback in 2023 and was named second-team all-Big 12.
Howard, from Downingtown, Pa., and Downingtown West High School and is 6-5 and 235 pounds, set the Kansas State career record with 48 touchdown passes and tied the school single season record with 24 touchdown passes in 2023. He ranks fourth at Kansas State in career completions (458), fifth in passing yards (5,786), attempts (779) and total offense per game (197.3), sixth in passing yards per game (170.2) and seventh in passing efficiency (135.1).
Howard rushed for 921 yards in his four seasons with the Wildcats with seasons of 364 rushing yards in 2020 and 351 rushing yards in 2023. He scored 19 rushing touchdowns and had long runs of 80 yards vs. TCU in 2020, 71 yards vs. Texas in 2021 and 70 yards in 2023 vs. Oklahoma State
Howard graduated from Kansas State in December with his degree in accounting. He was a three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree. He entered the transfer portal after the 2023 regular season and transferred to Ohio State in January of 2024 and is working on a master's degree in sports coaching.
