Will Howard (American football)
 Howard in 2020 | |
| Ohio State Buckeyes – No. 18 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Quarterback |
| Class |  |
| Major | Accounting |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | September 24, 2001 West Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College |
|
| Bowl games | |
| High school | Downingtown West (Downingtown, Pennsylvania) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Will Howard (born September 24, 2001) is an American football quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He began his college football career at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State in 2024.
Early life
[edit]Howard grew up in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and attended Downingtown West High School.[1][2] He was named the Maxwell Football Club Pennsylvania Player of the Year after passing for 2,543 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior.[3] Howard finished his high school career with 5,308 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes while also rushing for 512 yards and 21 touchdowns.[4] He also was a two-time All-Area selection in basketball and scored over 1,000 points in his varsity career.[5]
Howard was rated a three-star recruit and received over 20 total scholarship offers.[1] He committed to play college football at Kansas State after considering offers from Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Kansas.[6]
College career
[edit]Kansas State
[edit]Howard joined the Kansas State Wildcats as an early enrollee in January 2020.[7] He began his freshman season as the backup to starting quarterback Skylar Thompson and started the final seven games after Thompson suffered a serious injury.[8][9] Howard finished the season with 90 completions on 168 pass attempts for 1,178 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 364 yards and three touchdowns.[10] He served as Thompson's backup again as a sophomore after competing for the starting job in practice.[11] Howard played in six games with three starts.
As a junior, Howard began spring practice as the Wildcats first-string quarterback.[12] Transfer Adrian Martinez was ultimately named the starter going into the 2022 and he initially intended to redshirt the season.[13][14] Howard came in relief of Martinez after he suffered an injury against TCU and led the Wildcats on four straight touchdown drives and started the following game against Oklahoma State.[15] Howard completed 19 of 27 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Martinez after he suffered another injury against Baylor.[16] He became Kansas State's starting quarterback a second time after it was revealed Martinez's injury was serious.[17][18] Howard finished the season with 1,633 passing yards and 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games played.[19]
After his junior season, Howard entered the transfer portal on November 27, 2023.[20]
Ohio State
[edit]On January 4, 2024, Howard committed to Ohio State University for his senior season following an official visit to Columbus.[21] On August 5, 2024, he was named the starter.[22]
College statistics
[edit]| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Kansas State Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | 9 | 7 | 2−5 | 90 | 168 | 53.6 | 1,178 | 7.0 | 8 | 10 | 116.3 | 78 | 364 | 4.7 | 3 | |
| 2021 | 5 | 3 | 1−2 | 30 | 55 | 54.5 | 332 | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 107.6 | 32 | 184 | 5.8 | 4 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 5 | 4−1 | 119 | 199 | 59.8 | 1,633 | 8.2 | 15 | 4 | 149.6 | 35 | 22 | 0.6 | 3 | |
| 2023 | 12 | 12 | 8−4 | 219 | 357 | 61.3 | 2,643 | 7.4 | 24 | 10 | 140.1 | 81 | 351 | 4.3 | 10 | |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 9−1 | 186 | 255 | 72.9 | 2,484 | 9.7 | 24 | 5 | 181.9 | 63 | 122 | 1.9 | 6 | |
| Career[23] | 44 | 37 | 24−13 | 644 | 1,034 | 62.3 | 8,270 | 8.0 | 72 | 30 | 146.6 | 289 | 1,043 | 3.6 | 25 | |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Anastasia, Phil (August 12, 2019). "Football recruiting: Downingtown West's Will Howard finds 'home' with Carson Wentz's former coach". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Downingtown West's Will Howard is top passer". Philadelphia Inquirer. September 26, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ Anastasia, Phil (December 13, 2019). "Downingtown West's Will Howard is player of year". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Will Howard might be called upon to start at quarterback for Kansas State on Saturday". The Manhattan Mercury. October 9, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Settle, Colin (August 20, 2021). "Countdown to Kickoff: 15 days away with quarterback Will Howard, defensive tackle Robert Hentz II". Kansas State Collegian. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Young, Derek (June 23, 2019). "Quarterback Will Howard commits to Kansas State". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Santoliquito, Joseph (January 10, 2020). "Ohio star QB Will Howard ready to get his college career started early". PhillyVoice.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "K-State's Howard still evolving". The Salina Journal. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Skretta, David (August 20, 2021). "K-State welcomes back QBs Thompson, Howard to lead this year". APNews.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ "Kansas State loses QB with Wolf Pack coming to town". Nevada Appeal. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "'This isn't our first rodeo': Why K-State QB Will Howard feels ready for starting job". The Wichita Eagle. September 15, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Will Howard QB1 at K-State Wildcats spring football practice". The Wichita Eagle. April 1, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ Robinette, Kellis (October 31, 2022). "After two years of struggles, Kansas State quarterback Will Howard is suddenly a hero". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "'It's his football team': Will Howard ready to burn redshirt, lead K-State offense". The Wichita Eagle. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (October 29, 2022). "Kansas State starts Will Howard over hurt QB Adrian Martinez". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Dixon, Schuyler (November 12, 2022). "Super sub Howard leads No. 23 K-State to 31-3 rout of Baylor". APNews.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "K-State Wildcats vs. Baylor Bears: Will Howard game analysis". The Wichita Eagle. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- ^ "Will Howard will be Kansas State football's starting quarterback at West Virginia". The Topeka Capital-Journal. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- ^ Green, Arne (July 24, 2023). "Why Kansas State football quarterback Will Howard is oozing confidence for the 2023 season". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- ^ "2024 College Football Transfer Portal". 247Sports. August 28, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
- ^ Kaufman, Joey (January 4, 2024). "Ohio State football adds transfer quarterback Will Howard from Kansas State". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
- ^ Rabinowitz, Bill (August 15, 2024). "Ohio State football coach Ryan Day says Will Howard wins the Buckeyes' quarterback battle". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ "Will Howard College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022.