Will Howard couldn’t be more excited entering his first game as Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
Growing up as a Penn State fan in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, Howard has long had an idea of how football-crazed Big Ten fanbases are. He’s had the opportunity to play in stadiums throughout the country over the past four years as a quarterback at Kansas State. But Howard knows playing in Ohio Stadium as the starting quarterback for the scarlet and gray will be extra special.
“Man, I'm so excited. I truly can't overstate how excited I am. I’m fired up, man,” Howard said Tuesday. “I grew up as a kid watching the Big Ten. I’ve played in a lot of places now, at this point in my career, I've played in front of hundreds of thousands, but the Shoe and the atmosphere here, it's different, man. And the traditions, I'm really excited just to experience all of it.
“We've walked through like what's it going to be like on a game day, but just getting out there and doing it for the first time, I think the thing I'm most excited for is running out in front of 110,000 at the Shoe and just taking that in because, you know, I only get so many opportunities here. I want to make sure I soak it in before we go out there and get to business, strap it up and play.”
Howard learned just two weeks ago that he would be the starting quarterback for Ohio State’s season opener after competing with Devin Brown, Julian Sayin and the rest of the Buckeyes’ quarterbacks throughout the spring and the first two weeks of preseason camp. For Howard, that was a realization of the first goal he set for himself when he made the decision to transfer from Kansas State to Ohio State in January.
“It's an honor. It's a privilege. And I don't take it lightly,” Howard said Tuesday in his first press conference since being named the starter. “There's a lot of really, really good players in that room. And to be named the starter in a group like we have is an honor. And it truly is special to me. Being the starting quarterback of Ohio State, it's truly a blessing, man.
“And I know that there's a lot of stuff that comes with that. I know there's a lot of expectations and pressure, if you will. But I knew that that was the first goal on my list when we got here, was to be the guy. And I knew I had to work for it. And the guys in the room weren't going to make it easy. But I felt like I had a good camp. And I showed the coaching staff what I could do. And I felt like I finally settled into the offense for the first time. And just going through fall, I feel really confident with kind of how I'm feeling the offense out and how I'm kind of evolving in this system.”
Howard won the starting job by showing Ryan Day and Chip Kelly that he had a strong command of the offense, instilling confidence in his coaches and teammates that he would be an effective leader for the offense this season. Howard feels like he’s been able to build on that in the two weeks since he’s been named the starter, as he now feels like he has more authority to exert himself as a leader and offer input to his coaches on what plays they should call.
“I feel like when you're given that position, you're able to have a little more of a say in things,” Howard said. “Say like, we're going through some pass concepts. When you're competing for a job, you may not be as eager to say, ‘Hey, I don't really like that concept, Coach.’ But when you're the starter and they're telling you, ‘Hey, we want to hear your input.’ – you know, ‘If you don't like a play, then we're not going to run it’ – like that's kind of the difference. And I just feel like I have a little more ownership in some of the play calls and some of the reads and some of the stuff that we're doing.
“Obviously, there's a structure to everything. And I got to do what the coaches tell me to. But I do feel like I have more say and I can voice my opinion on, ‘Hey, I like this concept, I don't like this concept.’ And it's more of a collaborative effort from that perspective.”
“To be named the starter in a group like we have is an honor. And it truly is special to me. Being the starting quarterback of Ohio State, it's truly a blessing, man.”– Will Howard on winning Ohio State’s starting job
Day has said all offseason that Ohio State’s quarterback doesn’t need to do anything superhuman for the Buckeyes to succeed, and that’s still the message he’s giving Howard going into Saturday’s season opener against Akron (3:30 p.m., CBS). Day says the biggest things he’s looking for from his new signal-caller against the Zips are to make smart decisions, avoid turnovers and execute the plays that are available to him to keep drives alive.
“We want him to run the team and be clean, get us in and out of the huddle, get us up to the line of scrimmage, be sharp, take care of the football,” Day said Tuesday. “You've heard me say the term, make the routine plays routinely. Play well on third down, red zone and two-minute. I mean, that's what we're looking for out of our quarterback. But in particular, in that first game, it's run a clean operation. That's ball security, that's cadence, that's communication, the new headset and how we're doing that.
“And we are gonna be huddling some and those type of things. Not all the time, but that's a little bit different. And how are we converting on third downs and all those things, sideline adjustments. So it's getting into the game, getting a feel for it and playing clean. That's what we're looking for in week one.”
There’s always a level of uncertainty that goes into the first game with a new quarterback, even in a game the Buckeyes are favored to win by 50 points, and Day didn’t want to make any declarations about Ohio State’s offense on Tuesday, saying it is still “not close” to where he expects it to ultimately be. But Day is confident that Howard is ready for the spotlight that comes with being the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback because of the way he has carried himself throughout the offseason.
“He knew what he was getting himself into here at Ohio State … He wanted to be here. And I think a big part of that is he knew what came with it,” Day said. “And he's really embraced that role. He's been in here getting extra film work in this week already. He's put a lot of work in this preseason. So we ask our quarterbacks to do a lot here, and he's embraced that part of it. So he's got a good look in his eye this week, and I think he wants to get on the field and get started.”
