COLUMBUS — Forget what you think you know about new Ohio State football quarterback Will Howard.
Or, at least, do not assume you know what Howard will look like in scarlet and gray this fall. The Kansas State transfer joined up because he felt coach Ryan Day’s offense could help him complete his metamorphosis.
Over the course of four seasons with the Wildcats, Howard developed from dual threat to pocket passer who can move — a sometimes subtle yet important distinction. He expects to help Ohio State with his legs — as much as it takes to win any given game. Yet he also transferred in to prove his running ability is merely a bonus, not the foundation of his identity.
“Even though it’s not necessarily my forte, people saw me — believe it or not — as a running quarterback my first two years at K State,” Howard said. “I had a section on the game card called ‘Will Howard plays’ and it was like ‘quarterback power.’ That was my thing.
“But now, I feel like that’s not me.”
In his first two seasons with the Wildcats, Howard carried 101 times in 14 games on either designed runs or scrambles. That equates to 7.2 carries per game.
Not since Justin Fields’ 2019 season, when he carried or scrambled 7.57 times per game, has a Buckeye quarterback run that much.
By contrast, C.J. Stroud carried 27 times in the 12-game regular season in 2022. Kyle McCord did so only 16 times last season — augmented by 16 more from Devin Brown, primarily in his red zone package. Last season, Howard stayed in the pocket more, yet still averaged 5.33 non-sack carries per game.
Howard, though, is not Fields as a runner. Few are, which is why Fields’ 1,143 rushing yards for the Bears in 2022 were second-most ever for an NFL quarterback.
Howard envisions something closer to Fields’ tenure at OSU — a pocket passer first and foremost, with the ability to capitalize when he must escape that pocket. He has seen aspects which fit his strengths already, from play action concepts to naked bootleg opportunities.
“The things that coach Day does in his offense and that coach O’Brien does I feel like really fit my my type of build, my type of player,” Howard said.
That type of player may look different by Aug. 31 than it did throughout the Big 12 the past four seasons.
