Will Howard believes transfer from Kansas State was 'kinda what I needed'

Kansas State transfer and Ohio State QB1 Will Howard had a tough task this offseason having to establish himself as a leader at a new and bigger program compared to the Wildcats.

Ahead of Howard’s final season of college ball in Columbus, he was invited to participate in the Manning Passing Academy, where he got in plenty of reps in a pro-style setting and also got to speak to media ahead of a massive swing season for Ryan Day one way or the other.

With the expectations of Ohio State in 2024, the expectations of a quarterback in general, and the fact that Will Howard is brand new to the team — yeah, he admits, the transition process was challenging at times.

“It’s tough, yeah. And you know, it’s so normalized nowadays that people don’t really think about it,” Howard commented on the portal. He added that the move jolted him out of a pretty cushy setup in Manhattan.

“It’s a tough process, the transition, especially for a guy like me who was at K-State for four years, really cemented, was comfortable, knew all the guys. You know, going to a new place is kind of what I needed, a step out of my comfort zone. I was ready for that. It’s not easy, by any stretch.”

Luckily, as Howard himself noted, transferring is the nature of the sport at the moment, so he had plenty of other new guys who he was getting acclimated with at the same time.

“I leaned on those guys I came in with because we were all kinda going through the same thing,” Howard continued. “It took a little bit, you know, to get my feet wet, get comfortable just with the guys and with the program. But it honestly didn’t take too long.”

Once spring practice started, the team really came together, per Howard, and he feels great about the Buckeyes’ connected group heading into the fall.

“By the time spring ball came around, I was pretty well engrossed in it, and I mean, they embraced me really well. We have a really tight team this year, so it’s cool.”

A veteran quarterback at the college level, Howard touts a 14-11 record in 25 career starts. His best season came this past fall, throwing for 2,643 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing a career-high 61.3% of his passes.

His biggest accomplishment came in 2022, when he took over at QB in the middle of the year and wound up leading the Wildcats to a 31-28 overtime victory against previously unbeaten TCU in the ’22 Big 12 Championship Game.