Ryan Day Names Ohio State’s Starting Quarterback For 2024 Season

Who will lead the Ohio State Buckeyes offense during the 2024 college football season is no longer a question. Head coach Ryan Day announced Kansas State transfer Will Howard as the team's starting quarterback on Thursday.

Howard, a super senior, taking the helm is not a surprise considering the largely inexperienced group of signal-callers at Ohio State. First-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly has been charged with getting the room ready after taking over for Bill O'Brien in February.

“Will Howard will start the first game against Akron,” Day said. “He is our starting quarterback. I think that Chip (Kelly) has done a great job of rolling the quarterbacks from the first day of spring all the way to now. I think we’re 12 or 13 practices in here. So, we’re talking 27, 28 practices and when you take the aggregate of all the numbers, Will graded out significantly ahead of the other guys.”

Howard appeared in 34 games for the Wildcats through four seasons. His best season came in 2023, passing for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions He also added 351 yards and nine scores on the ground and led Kansas State to a 9-4 record.

The Buckeyes were left with a glaring void at the position following the transfer of last year's starter Kyle McCord to Syracuse. Now, Howard holds a lot of weight on his shoulders in leading the AP No. 2 team in his first season with the program.

Day went on to name redshirt sophomore Devin Brown as the No. 2 option. That leaves redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz and true freshmen Air Noland and Julian Sayin competing for the third spot.

The Buckeyes will open the season at home versus Akron on Aug. 31. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. EDT (CBS).

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