Ohio State QB Will Howard makes bold statement on the high expectations surrounding him

When you go to Ohio State whether you are a coach or a player, you are going to deal with sky-high expectations . Those expectations are even higher when you play the quarterback position.

Ohio State’s offseason brought them a new guy at the position Will Howard and he replaces Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse. Howard has not been named the starter but all signs point toward Ryan Day turning to Howard for this season.

Coming over from Kansas State, expectations are a lot higher in Columbus and Howard is well aware of that. The graduate transfer was recently at the Manning Passing Academy.

“It is tough. The expectations are higher but I knew what I was signing up for,” Howard said.

Over four seasons at Kansas State, Howard tossed 48 touchdowns to 25 interceptions in 34 career games. Howard threw 10 interceptions to just eight touchdowns as a freshman but improved to 24 passing touchdowns to 10 interceptions in 2023. Last season, Howard added nine rushing touchdowns to his totals as well.

Coming to Ohio State Howard will have a chance to be in front of the NFL eye much more than he would be in Kansas. That played a part in him coming to Columbus and it is one of his goals.

“I know that the ultimate goal for me is the NFL, being a starter in the NFL. And I knew if I didn’t put myself in uncomfortable positions and push myself and put these expectations on myself, then I wasn’t going to grow. Following in the footsteps of CJ [Stroud], and Justin [Fields], and Dwayne [Haskins], and JT [Barrett]. Like, the succession of quarterbacks there is special and I hope I can carry it on in a good way.”

The quarterback room is talented with Julian Sayin, Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, and Air Noland occupying it. Next season, they will welcome Tavien St. Clair as a freshman , who will likely have a chance to compete for the job. Howard will be moved on to try to make himself an NFL player.

Ryan Day has had a lot of success with recent quarterbacks and getting them to the NFL outside of McCord’s one season. Howard hopes to be next in line to turn into an NFL Draft selection. In 2024 and every season really for the foreseeable future, there is going to be a whole lot of pressure on Howard or whoever is behind center.

Related: Ohio State gets recruiting win over their biggest rival Michigan that will leave Wolverines feeling unwell