Explaining why Will Howard is in for a 'special fall' with Ohio State

Ohio State has an absolutely loaded roster ahead of the 2024 season, but questions remain about the quarterback position. Will Howard was brought in as a transfer this offseason, and the hope is that he can have a big year for the Buckeyes in 2024.

On3’s Andy Staples was recently joined by Clark Brooks to break down what to expect from Will Howard at Ohio State.

“This is a guy who goes from Kansas State to Ohio State, will be surrounded by more talent than he’s ever seen before in his life, but will be expected to win the national title,” Staples said.

Fair or not, there’s no doubt that the goal for Ohio State is to win the national title in 2024. The Buckeyes were in contention last season, but inconsistent quarterback play proved to be too much to overcome.

Brooks expects the Buckeyes to be improved at QB with Howard in the fold.

“Will Howard, so prototypical size — 6’5, 240. He can move. He can add a little bit of an element in the run game, the designed run game. Now, Chip Kelly, we all know that’s where he makes his bread and butter playing basketball on grass,” Brooks said. “He’s going to take some sacks. He’s going to falter against pressure, in my opinion.

“But if his feet are fine, he is fine. Looking at down-field accuracy, he had the top mid-range accuracy percentage in our impact study. Sixty-one percent of his throws 11 to 20 yards down field were perfectly placed. Fantastic.”

With that said, Brooks still has some concerns about Will Howard. He feels that the former Kansas State QB wasn’t particularly sharp outside of the numbers and didn’t always put enough zip on his passes.

Brooks added that Howard wasn’t often asked to read the entire field. Still, overall, he believes the Buckeyes upgraded at the quarterback position.

“Even though I think his play against pressure is a big, big concern… he absolutely can provide the element that has been missing for Ohio State,” Brooks said.

“Kyle McCord, he was a fairly consistent down-to-down passer, it’s just that he pressed a little too much, and those mistakes cost Ohio State where they wanted to go. So I think [Howard] can not throw the ball into harm’s way, add a little more potency, and with that sturdy lower body, add a little more of an element in the true running game.”

Howard is coming off of a season in which he completed 61.3 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,643 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Those numbers could now be much better with a talented group of receivers to throw to at Ohio State, including former five-star recruit Emeka Egbuka.

“With an up-tick in weapons, I really do think he’s going to have a special fall,” Brooks said. “I do understand some of the drawbacks of his game. I just think he’s going to be able to have a special, special fall.”