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Will Howard looks to bring veteran experience to the quarterback room
justingolba 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
Howard comes to Columbus with 34 collegiate games under his belt.
Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Akron.
After Ohio State lost to Michigan and Missouri to end the 2023-24 season and Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal en route to Syracuse (and to be honest, even before he left), it was pretty clear the Buckeyes were going to have to figure out another option at the quarterback position.
Enter Kansas State’s Will Howard.
Howard transferred to Columbus after spending four years in Manhattan (not that one) and playing in 34 college games. Of the four other quarterbacks on the Buckeyes’ roster, only Devin Brown has played in actual collegiate games and has only played in eight total with 28 pass attempts.
Now Howard comes into the season as the favorite to win the starting job for the Buckeyes and the guy that can lead them to a championship for the, “reload the clip” season. I will start with a bold prediction for Howard’s season: I think he will not only earn the sitting job, but he will make an all-conference team this season.
The reason is that three quarterbacks who earned all-conference honors last year — JJ McCarthy, Taulia Tagovailoa, and Kyle McCord — have all moved on, so the spots are all open. Oregon's Dillon Gabriel leads by a good amount in terms of who could be the best in the conference. The UCF and Oklahoma transfer is a legitimate Heisman candidate, and it would be surprising if he was not first-team all-conference.
Drew Allar of Penn State is interesting because last season, his numbers were very good, but he did not pass the “eye test,” and Penn State took the ball out of his hands in all big games. Incoming Wisconsin transfer Tyler Van Dyke has had a good collegiate career, but nothing that has been wildly impressive. There is a lot of talent in the conference, but most of it is unproven talent.
In terms of Howard’s collegiate career thus far, he hasn’t done anything amazing but has been solid throughout, with his best year statically coming last year after an arguably more efficient season in 2022. Now, he gets to join an Ohio State team with weapons like Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, and Jeremiah Smith.
During his four years at Kansas State, he completed 458-of-779 passes for a 58.8 completion percentage and 5,786 yards, 48 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He also ran for 921 yards on 226 attempts with 19 touchdowns. Last year was his best season by the numbers, as he completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions. He ran for 351 yards on 81 attempts and nine touchdowns and caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.
“There was more zip on the ball, and I thought there was more accuracy today,” Day said after the first day of camp. “Again, [it’s] Day 1. What are you going to do with Day 1? But I thought the ball came out with more pace. I thought he had more discernment. And I thought there were some accurate throws out there.”
Day also commended Howard’s physical growth and work in the gym.
“We have the opportunity to use DEXA scans here to get an idea of their body fat and their makeup and their lean mass, and he got challenged,” Day said. “It’s one thing to put on weight and take off weight. But when you’re talking about body fat and lean mass, and those types of things — you’ll just see [Howard]. He looks different, he’s moving differently. He worked hard on that.”
Day added, “He changed his diet, changed his workout plan, and dedicated himself to the offseason. I think you’re seeing that right now. Now he’s got to sustain that throughout the season. […] He’s moving well for his size.”
Howard has looked solid so far in camp, and he will almost certainly be the one the coaching staff hands the ball to in hopes of winning a Big Ten title and National Championship. And of course, beating The Team Up North.
Continue reading...
justingolba 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
Howard comes to Columbus with 34 collegiate games under his belt.
Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Akron.
After Ohio State lost to Michigan and Missouri to end the 2023-24 season and Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal en route to Syracuse (and to be honest, even before he left), it was pretty clear the Buckeyes were going to have to figure out another option at the quarterback position.
Enter Kansas State’s Will Howard.
Howard transferred to Columbus after spending four years in Manhattan (not that one) and playing in 34 college games. Of the four other quarterbacks on the Buckeyes’ roster, only Devin Brown has played in actual collegiate games and has only played in eight total with 28 pass attempts.
Now Howard comes into the season as the favorite to win the starting job for the Buckeyes and the guy that can lead them to a championship for the, “reload the clip” season. I will start with a bold prediction for Howard’s season: I think he will not only earn the sitting job, but he will make an all-conference team this season.
The reason is that three quarterbacks who earned all-conference honors last year — JJ McCarthy, Taulia Tagovailoa, and Kyle McCord — have all moved on, so the spots are all open. Oregon's Dillon Gabriel leads by a good amount in terms of who could be the best in the conference. The UCF and Oklahoma transfer is a legitimate Heisman candidate, and it would be surprising if he was not first-team all-conference.
Drew Allar of Penn State is interesting because last season, his numbers were very good, but he did not pass the “eye test,” and Penn State took the ball out of his hands in all big games. Incoming Wisconsin transfer Tyler Van Dyke has had a good collegiate career, but nothing that has been wildly impressive. There is a lot of talent in the conference, but most of it is unproven talent.
In terms of Howard’s collegiate career thus far, he hasn’t done anything amazing but has been solid throughout, with his best year statically coming last year after an arguably more efficient season in 2022. Now, he gets to join an Ohio State team with weapons like Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, and Jeremiah Smith.
During his four years at Kansas State, he completed 458-of-779 passes for a 58.8 completion percentage and 5,786 yards, 48 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. He also ran for 921 yards on 226 attempts with 19 touchdowns. Last year was his best season by the numbers, as he completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns, with 10 interceptions. He ran for 351 yards on 81 attempts and nine touchdowns and caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.
“There was more zip on the ball, and I thought there was more accuracy today,” Day said after the first day of camp. “Again, [it’s] Day 1. What are you going to do with Day 1? But I thought the ball came out with more pace. I thought he had more discernment. And I thought there were some accurate throws out there.”
Day also commended Howard’s physical growth and work in the gym.
“We have the opportunity to use DEXA scans here to get an idea of their body fat and their makeup and their lean mass, and he got challenged,” Day said. “It’s one thing to put on weight and take off weight. But when you’re talking about body fat and lean mass, and those types of things — you’ll just see [Howard]. He looks different, he’s moving differently. He worked hard on that.”
Day added, “He changed his diet, changed his workout plan, and dedicated himself to the offseason. I think you’re seeing that right now. Now he’s got to sustain that throughout the season. […] He’s moving well for his size.”
Howard has looked solid so far in camp, and he will almost certainly be the one the coaching staff hands the ball to in hopes of winning a Big Ten title and National Championship. And of course, beating The Team Up North.
Continue reading...