Michael Citro
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Will Howard leaves behind incredible single-season Ohio State legacy
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A lot of folks underestimated the transfer portal arrival of the former Kansas State quarterback.
Based on sports radio call-in shows, media stories, and social media posts, it seemed obvious that a lot of people weren’t sold on Will Howard when he committed to Ohio State out of the transfer portal a year ago. Considered the sixth-best quarterback in the portal at the time, it’s safe to say now that Buckeye fans are glad he chose Columbus as his destination after a stellar-yet-somehow-underrated season of guiding the Buckeyes to their ninth national championship in school history.
Howard arrived with the reputation of being a good leader who could make plays with his legs and do enough with his arm to get the job done. Howard ran the ball more and more as the season wound down, but the Buckeyes typically rode his arm when they needed a play.
It helps to have guys like Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate, but if the quarterback can’t read the coverage or get the ball to them, it doesn’t work, and Howard had to quickly learn the offense and his teammates in spring ball to win the starting quarterback spot.
Not only did he win the starting job, but he turned in a performance throughout the season that should have at least put him in the Heisman conversation, even though other players had better claims (and not as good of supporting casts). It just seemed like nobody ever gave Howard the credit he deserved, particularly those who called him the worst starting quarterback in this year’s College Football Playoff field.
Howard leaves behind not only a memorable final season of college football at the helm of the nation’s best team, but his name will appear all over the Ohio State record book. In just one year, Howard inked his name alongside many of the best to ever wear the Scarlet & Gray.
The Downingtown, Pennsylvania native’s excellent performance in the national championship game against Notre Dame helped him finish the season with a .730 completion percentage for the season. That broke C.J. Stroud’s previous single-season school record of .719 set in 2021. Howard completing a higher percentage of his passes than any quarterback in OSU history is not something anyone expected.
How does such a thing even happen? For Howard, it happened in part because he completed 80% or more of his passes in half of his games this season. Those eight games include two of the four College Football Playoff matchups (82.8% against Tennessee and 81% against Notre Dame), a season-high 84.6% against Indiana, and 84% against Iowa. Only Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders (74%) had a higher completion percentage in the entire country.
Howard completed 309 of his 423 pass attempts during the 2024 season, amassing 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Only five quarterbacks in the country threw for more yardage than Howard, and although former OSU signal caller Kyle McCord was one of them (4,779), Howard threw for one more touchdown and tossed two fewer interceptions. McCord also needed 169 more attempts to get those extra 769 yards.
Speaking of yards, Howard is just the third Ohio State quarterback to eclipse 4,000 yards in a season. His 4,010 yards are the third most in a season in school history behind Dwayne Haskins’ 4,831 in 2018 and Stroud’s 4,435 in 2021. His yards in 2024 are the 15th most in an entire career by an Ohio State quarterback, as he passed McCord (3,776 from 2021-23) but did not quite catch Craig Krenzel (4,493 from 2000-03).
In a single season, Howard finished just two touchdowns out of Ohio State’s career top 10 in that category. Had he thrown two more touchdown passes, he’d have tied Greg Frey’s 37 (1987-1990) for 10th in school history. Only Justin Fields (41 in 2019), Stroud (44 in 2021 and 41 in 2022), and Haskins (50 in 2018) have thrown for more touchdowns in a season for Ohio State than Howard. He finished fourth nationally in touchdown passes this season.
Howard’s 250.6 yards per game in 2024 rank as the eighth-best mark for a season in OSU history, displacing J.T. Barrett’s 236.2 in 2014 and nestling just under seventh-place Bobby Hoying’s 251.5 in 1995. Since that 250.6 yards per game is his career mark as well, Howard is in second place in the OSU career category, behind only Stroud’s 300.9 from 2020-22.
By eclipsing 200 yards passing 14 times in 2024, Howard joins Haskins at the top of that single-season category. For his career, 14 200-yard games place Howard in a tie for fifth with Haskins and Steve Bellisari. He’s also tied with Troy Smith and Art Schlichter for career 300-passing games, and with McCord, Barrett, and Fields with 300-yard passing games in a season — that total is three (both Oregon games and vs. Tennessee).
His 175.25 quarterback rating is third for an Ohio State career and fifth for a Buckeye season. Howard’s 423 pass attempts in 2024 were the third most in a season by an Ohio State quarterback, owing to the Ryan Day/Chip Kelly offense, a stable of great receivers, and the coaching staff’s confidence in him to throw it on any down and distance.
Howard wasn’t the sexiest signing out of the portal for Ohio State in 2024. He might not have even been the quarterback that garnered the most interest, with highly touted prospect Julian Sayin also arriving in Columbus. However, overshadowed in terms of name recognition or not, Howard created a legacy for himself at Ohio State.
Even with only one year under his belt, Howard is one of the great quarterback success stories in school history. He became a legend in one year — something many of Ohio State’s all-time greats needed three or four years to accomplish.
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
A lot of folks underestimated the transfer portal arrival of the former Kansas State quarterback.
Based on sports radio call-in shows, media stories, and social media posts, it seemed obvious that a lot of people weren’t sold on Will Howard when he committed to Ohio State out of the transfer portal a year ago. Considered the sixth-best quarterback in the portal at the time, it’s safe to say now that Buckeye fans are glad he chose Columbus as his destination after a stellar-yet-somehow-underrated season of guiding the Buckeyes to their ninth national championship in school history.
Howard arrived with the reputation of being a good leader who could make plays with his legs and do enough with his arm to get the job done. Howard ran the ball more and more as the season wound down, but the Buckeyes typically rode his arm when they needed a play.
It helps to have guys like Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka, and Carnell Tate, but if the quarterback can’t read the coverage or get the ball to them, it doesn’t work, and Howard had to quickly learn the offense and his teammates in spring ball to win the starting quarterback spot.
Not only did he win the starting job, but he turned in a performance throughout the season that should have at least put him in the Heisman conversation, even though other players had better claims (and not as good of supporting casts). It just seemed like nobody ever gave Howard the credit he deserved, particularly those who called him the worst starting quarterback in this year’s College Football Playoff field.
Howard leaves behind not only a memorable final season of college football at the helm of the nation’s best team, but his name will appear all over the Ohio State record book. In just one year, Howard inked his name alongside many of the best to ever wear the Scarlet & Gray.
The Downingtown, Pennsylvania native’s excellent performance in the national championship game against Notre Dame helped him finish the season with a .730 completion percentage for the season. That broke C.J. Stroud’s previous single-season school record of .719 set in 2021. Howard completing a higher percentage of his passes than any quarterback in OSU history is not something anyone expected.
How does such a thing even happen? For Howard, it happened in part because he completed 80% or more of his passes in half of his games this season. Those eight games include two of the four College Football Playoff matchups (82.8% against Tennessee and 81% against Notre Dame), a season-high 84.6% against Indiana, and 84% against Iowa. Only Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders (74%) had a higher completion percentage in the entire country.
Howard completed 309 of his 423 pass attempts during the 2024 season, amassing 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Only five quarterbacks in the country threw for more yardage than Howard, and although former OSU signal caller Kyle McCord was one of them (4,779), Howard threw for one more touchdown and tossed two fewer interceptions. McCord also needed 169 more attempts to get those extra 769 yards.
Speaking of yards, Howard is just the third Ohio State quarterback to eclipse 4,000 yards in a season. His 4,010 yards are the third most in a season in school history behind Dwayne Haskins’ 4,831 in 2018 and Stroud’s 4,435 in 2021. His yards in 2024 are the 15th most in an entire career by an Ohio State quarterback, as he passed McCord (3,776 from 2021-23) but did not quite catch Craig Krenzel (4,493 from 2000-03).
In a single season, Howard finished just two touchdowns out of Ohio State’s career top 10 in that category. Had he thrown two more touchdown passes, he’d have tied Greg Frey’s 37 (1987-1990) for 10th in school history. Only Justin Fields (41 in 2019), Stroud (44 in 2021 and 41 in 2022), and Haskins (50 in 2018) have thrown for more touchdowns in a season for Ohio State than Howard. He finished fourth nationally in touchdown passes this season.
Howard’s 250.6 yards per game in 2024 rank as the eighth-best mark for a season in OSU history, displacing J.T. Barrett’s 236.2 in 2014 and nestling just under seventh-place Bobby Hoying’s 251.5 in 1995. Since that 250.6 yards per game is his career mark as well, Howard is in second place in the OSU career category, behind only Stroud’s 300.9 from 2020-22.
By eclipsing 200 yards passing 14 times in 2024, Howard joins Haskins at the top of that single-season category. For his career, 14 200-yard games place Howard in a tie for fifth with Haskins and Steve Bellisari. He’s also tied with Troy Smith and Art Schlichter for career 300-passing games, and with McCord, Barrett, and Fields with 300-yard passing games in a season — that total is three (both Oregon games and vs. Tennessee).
His 175.25 quarterback rating is third for an Ohio State career and fifth for a Buckeye season. Howard’s 423 pass attempts in 2024 were the third most in a season by an Ohio State quarterback, owing to the Ryan Day/Chip Kelly offense, a stable of great receivers, and the coaching staff’s confidence in him to throw it on any down and distance.
Howard wasn’t the sexiest signing out of the portal for Ohio State in 2024. He might not have even been the quarterback that garnered the most interest, with highly touted prospect Julian Sayin also arriving in Columbus. However, overshadowed in terms of name recognition or not, Howard created a legacy for himself at Ohio State.
Even with only one year under his belt, Howard is one of the great quarterback success stories in school history. He became a legend in one year — something many of Ohio State’s all-time greats needed three or four years to accomplish.
Continue reading...