The Ohio State Buckeyes are in the midst of a quarterback battle this training camp, but Will Howard has been the favorite to land the job since transferring in from Kansas State. As we wait for head coach Ryan Day to make his decision public and the 2024 season nears, expectations are being set for this Buckeyes team.
This week, one college football expert ranked Howard higher than expected in his top 25 quarterbacks across the nation. If this ranking holds true, the Buckeyes will win the National Championship this season.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports ranked Howard as the 12th-best QB in the nation. He finished just ahead of Riley Leonard, Garrett Greene, Brady Cook, and Conner Weigman. Here's what he said about the new Buckeyes quarterback:
There is a certain level of statistical expectation that goes into playing quarterback for Ryan Day. The Buckeyes have one of the most-talented rosters in America surrounding Will Howard. Considering Ohio State brings back Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and welcome Ole Miss star Quinshon Judkins to the offense, this unit should flourish under Howard's direction. In two seasons as Kansas State's starter, Howard threw 39 touchdown passes and ran for another 12 scores.
It's possible to argue Howard should've ranked higher. Jalon Daniels, Noah Fifita, and Kaidon Salter are hands-down better than what we've seen from Howard thus far. However, the debate could be opened as Drew Allar (Penn State) finished ahead of Howard.
Did Ohio State make the right choice regarding the transfer portal? I wanted to see the Buckeyes swing on Cam Ward, who went to Miami instead and is ranked seventh on this list. Leonard also transferred, but his injury issues were a red flag. Ward doesn't have a great off-field reputation, so Howard might've won out for that reason.
What's not debatable is if Ohio State has even an average season from Howard as opposed to the dreadful year Kyle McCord produced in 2023, considering the surrounding cast McCord had, the Buckeyes will be in a great spot. Howard will have a similarly strong unit around him.
Expectations are for Ohio State to make the College Football Playoff and beat Michigan. Everything else after that is for a debate later.
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