Ryan Day gives initial reaction to Will Howard's first start at Ohio State

Many people across the country were intrigued to see quarterback Will Howard’s first start with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. The Buckeyes entered the 2024 campaign with sky high expectations, per usual. And while they got off to a sluggish start, they ended up routing the Akron Zips to the tune of a 52-6 beatdown. Shortly after the win, Buckeyes’ head coach Ryan Day shared his thoughts on some of his new players, including his uber-talented freshman wideout, Jeremiah Smith.

Ryan Day on Will Howard and his first start at Ohio State

How does he feel his new group introduced themselves to the 2024 season?

“Man it’s a start. I feel like we started to get into a rhythm a little more in the second half. I think there were some early jitters going on for some of those guys. You know the three inside guys, it was the first time playing here in the ‘Shoe. First time for Will [Howard]. First time for Jeremiah [Smith]. So, I think they got into a rhythm. You know, we were just a couple plays off here and there early on. Didn’t get quite in a rhythm. I felt we did a better job in the second half,” Day noted.

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How did he grade out Will Howard’s performance?

“I need to watch the film first. You know, I like his demeanor on the field. He takes control. You can see his, you know, his ability to throw the ball. His ability to make plays with his feet. But No. 1 job, we need him to lead. You saw that in the second half. I thought that first start, you know, well done,” Day explained.

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Shortly after Jenny Dell spoke with Ryan Day, she spoke with Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.

Where was his confidence level throughout the game? “Yeah, I mean, we definitely didn’t have the start that we wanted to. You know, had a couple things here and there that just didn’t really fall our way. And you know, I think we get it. You know, it’s not gonna be perfect. But we wanted to play clean. We wanted to start a little cleaner. You know, so obviously we’ve gotta work on that. But I feel like, in that second half, we really came out and started getting into a rhythm and it was good,” Howard noted.

How does he build off the victory on Saturday? “Yeah, we just gotta continue it into next week. You know, we’ve got Western Michigan coming in here. They just gave Wisconsin a pretty good game last night. So, they’re the next opponent on our schedule and we’re looking forward to it,” the Ohio State signal-caller finished.