The Ohio State football season is over, but the offseason has just begun and the Buckeyes are putting in work in the transfer portal. The first transfer portal addition came from the Mid-American Conference with the addition of Will Kacmarek from the Ohio Bobcats. We dove into what to expect from him earlier this month.
After snagging a proficient blocking tight end, the Buckeyes weren’t done attacking the offensive side of the football and it was not shocking to see Ryan Day finding his quarterback. We expected Ohio State to add another gunslinger after the departure of Kyle McCord, but the question was always who would it be?
The Buckeyes received a commitment from Will Howard who has spent the last two seasons starting for the Kansas State Wildcats and will have just one year of eligibility remaining. He chose Ohio State over Miami and USC, and the All-Big 12 quarterback will have a unique opportunity to elevate the Buckeye offense in 2024.
Name: Will Howard
Former School: Kansas State Wildcats
Height: 6-feet, 5-inches
Weight: 242 pounds
Position: Qaurterback
Strengths
my Top 10 returning QBs in college football:
10. Will Howard
9. Riley Leonard
8. Noah Fifita
7. Carson Beck & Jalen Milroe (I cheated)
6. Cam Ward
5. Cam Rising
4. Jaxson Dart
3. Quinn Ewers
2. Shedeur Sanders
1. Dillon Gabriel pic.twitter.com/0FwdBKuuua— Max Browne (@MaxBrowne4) January 20, 2024
Not many quarterbacks have shown the type of improvement that Howard has shown since he arrived on the scene in 2022. He was the definitive leader of the Wildcat offense and had clearly gained the trust of his coach, which are traits that were missing from the Buckeyes’ offense this past season.
Howard has put together two seasons of high level play, and has the ideal size to put an offense on his back when needed. This past season, Howard passed for 2,643 yards and an impressive 24 touchdowns. He is the type of player that can keep a team in the game by himself.
Weaknesses
Here's every time Will Howard pulled it and ran in games against Iowa State, TCU, Texas, Oklahoma State, Missouri, and Alabama (2022). Watching him in these games, I *believe* there were more called QB runs than what he ended up running on reads. Will check later. pic.twitter.com/ZdNnif6ink
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) January 17, 2024
I still don’t understand how Will Howard lost the starting gig to Adrian Martinez to start the 2022 season. This may not be a “weakness” and is a tad unfair to still bring up two years later, but Martinez was largely a liability throughout his college career, so knowing at one point he beat out Howard sends chills down my spine. However, Martinez was quite the player for the Wildcats, so there’s that.
Expectations
“Will Howard Save the Day”??@whoward_ pic.twitter.com/uXwwmF543I
— AzBuckguy (@AzBuckGuy) January 17, 2024
Here is the deal, Will Howard isn’t going to blow the doors off physically. I think that the difference between him and Kyle McCord physically is very slim, but physical traits were never the issue with McCord, but mentally the gap is huge. Ryan Day didn’t choose Will Howard because of his size and arm, but because he has shown his ability to be calm, cool, and collected in times of crisis. Howard can put the team on his back and elevate the players around him. He is a guy who will make few mistakes and will save his highlight reel potential for when the Buckeyes need it most. Ryan Day needs someone he can trust for such a vital season and Howard is arguably the most intelligent player in the country.
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