Chip Kelly: Will Howard 'made great strides' in offseason, 'earned' Ohio State starting QB job

Entering this season, the earliest Ryan Day had ever declared a starting quarterback was Aug. 19. That happened in 2019 when he named Justin Fields the starter, according to On3’s Andy Backstrom.

That changed on Thursday. Day announced Will Howard beat out Devin Brown for the job, meaning the competition ended with two weeks to go before the season opener against Akron.

According to Chip Kelly, Howard looks much better than he did during spring ball. That was a big reason he won the job and will enter the year as QB1.

“I think Will’s earned it,” Kelly said. “We grade everything. Obviously, he graded out the highest at the position. There’s a lot of data-driven information with that. In terms of decisions that he makes on the field, running the offense, it’s just as critical to be that guy in the run game as it is in the pass game in terms of what we ask the quarterback to do here.

“I think he’s really worked extremely hard in the offseason. From the end of spring ball on April 13 to now, he’s made great strides. We gave him a plan over the summer to work on, and he took it and ran with it. Where he is now is pretty impressive.”

Chip Kelly: Will Howard’s experience ‘shined through’ in camp

Howard arrived in Columbus with plenty of credentials after four years at Kansas State. He threw for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns during that time as he helped lead the Wildcats to a Big 12 title in 2022. After entering the transfer portal, Howard became the No. 15 overall player and No. 4-ranked quarterback to hit the open market, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

Those four years at K-State are important as Howard takes over under center at Ohio State, according to Kelly. That gave him an edge early on in camp, and it could be important once the season gets underway in Week 1.

“The one thing that you know he has is he has experience,” Kelly said. “He’s been in a huddle. He’s been in a huddle in a lot of games, he’s been in a huddle in big games. This isn’t new to him. Columbus is new to him, but playing college football isn’t new to him.

“I think that experience really started to shine through here during camp, and excited to see where he goes with us.”