Will Howard adapting to Ohio State receivers: 'They make plays like I've never seen anyone make plays before'
When Will Howard was at Kansas State, he didn’t have a spring game. Kansas State’s 15th and final spring practice was just that, a 15th practice. At Ohio State, the 15th practice is a spring game — and not just any spring game, but a spring game that’s routinely played in front of more than 80,000 fans.
“Everyone just kept asking me, like, ‘Oh, what was your guys’ spring game like?'” Howard said Tuesday. “And I was, like, ‘We had a practice 15, we didn’t have a spring game.’
“So, you know, it’s a little different.”
A “little different” is an understatement from Howard, who is very intentional about not disrespecting the program he played for the last four years while also being honest about the changes he’s experienced at Ohio State.
He’s made physical changes, like dropping approximately 15 pounds and showing up to training camp as a leaner and meaner version of his 6-foot-4 self, a version that now can run 22.1 miles per hour, or, in other words, faster than any other Buckeyes quarterback on the roster.
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Howard’s also made mental changes, the biggest of those perhaps being a greater understanding of what an open Ohio State receiver looks like. Head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly have hammered that message home.
“I mean no disrespect to the guys I’ve played with because I’ve played with some really good players, and I don’t want anyone to take this out of context,” Howard said. “I’ve played with a lot of good players.
“But I think here it’s a little different in the way that Coach Day and Coach Kelly teach some things. You know, ‘Hey, that guy’s wide open. He may not look wide open. He might have a guy right on him, but he’s wide open. In the NFL, he’s wide open.’ And that’s the mindset that I’ve had to kind of develop a little more is, he may not look to the to the general public like he’s open, but if you put a back shoulder ball on him, that’s a play you can make.”
Howard emphasized: “With the guys that we have here, I mean they make plays like I’ve never seen anyone make plays before.”
In his four years at Kansas State, Howard never had a wideout post more than 725 receiving yards in a single season. Howard could very well have three receivers surpass that mark this season, including freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who has a chance to turn in a more prolific first year with the Buckeyes than even Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter did when he collected 41 catches for 648 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman in 1984.
Plus, there’s senior Emeka Egbuka, a team captain who could leave Ohio State as the program’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. And then there’s Carnell Tate, a confident sophomore oozing with second-year breakout potential.
That’s just the tip of an iceberg decorated with former five- and four-star prospects.
“It’s a blessing to be able to … if it’s 1-on-1 coverage, I mean, they’re open,” Howard said. “It just depends on how I have to throw the ball. And I think that was a lot how Coach Kelly and Coach Day kind of instilled that in my brain.
“Like, ‘Hey, he may not look open, but he’s wide open.'”
Howard might use “little different” to describe that difference between Kansas State and Ohio State, too. But it will make the world of a difference downfield when a 50-50 ball he’s throwing becomes a 60-40 or 70-30 ball for the Buckeyes’ pool of receivers in 2024.