Listening to the way his teammates talk about him and seeing how he commands a podium, it’s sometimes easy to forget Will Howard only played one season in Columbus.
“The second he came into Ohio State from Kansas State, it felt like he had been there my entire time at Ohio State,” wide receiver Emeka Egbuka told reporters Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Like, he’s just an amazing guy and I have a ton of respect for him.”
The confident, 6-foot-4, 235-pound signal caller chose to transfer to Ohio State in the offseason with the intent of improving his draft stock and competing for a national championship. One year later, it’s clear Howard checked both boxes. He raised his completion percentage from his career 59 percent threshold to 73 percent last season. Howard threw for 35 touchdowns across 16 games in 2024 and passed for 4,010 yards, the third-most any quarterback has compiled in Ohio State history behind Dwayne Haskins and C.J. Stroud.
“I think my consistency definitely improved,” Howard said recapping his season. “I think I was more accurate. I think I was able to show more arm strength. I definitely probably didn't run the ball as much as I normally did at Kansas State this past year, but really didn't need to. We had some dudes back there to carry the load for me.
“But I feel like I just developed in every aspect of my game, and it was just a blessing to come to Ohio State, man. It was the best decision I ever made.”
In his lone year on campus, Howard made a strong impression on his offensive teammates. Running backs Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson both praised Howard’s leadership qualities on Friday, complimenting his poise, resilience and ability to keep a level head. Egbuka is Howard’s roommate for the week and aside from Howard’s snoring habits, Egbuka couldn’t stop praising his quarterback.
“I've never really had another quarterback who was such a field general and a leader like Will was,” Egbuka said. “Every time he stepped in the huddle, there was just a sense of relief that washed over the entire team. You can watch the playoff run and you can see him spin the ball and run the ball and do everything at an extremely high level, high enough level for us to win the national championship. I think what teams are going to get in Will Howard is a leader like no other.”
Emeka Egbuka has a pro scouting report on his teammate, Will Howard.
— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) February 28, 2025
Pros: Field general, leader like no other
Weaknesses: Snores. (Will can neither confirm nor deny) pic.twitter.com/6trXc7p7uO
Howard led Ohio State to its first championship in a decade, had prolific stats and is capable of charming even his harshest critic in a media setting. Still, he’s forecasted to go anywhere between rounds two and four, as he’s clearly behind Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart in NFL talent evaluators’ eyes. He’ll have to continue impressing NFL franchises over the next couple of months to be taken ahead of former Ohio State quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Kyle McCord.
But being undervalued is second nature to Howard at this point. A three-star prospect from Pennsylvania in the 2020 recruiting class, Howard dreamed of playing for his hometown Penn State Nittany Lions. PSU never offered the Downingtown native, so he began his career with Kansas State instead. Five years later, he still feels he has more to prove to earn the respect he feels he deserves.
“I still have that chip on my shoulder,” Howard said. “I'm always going to have that. You know, I love being kind of the underdog and kind of coming from behind. I think that's where I thrive and where I want to be.”
Howard has already done a lot to raise his draft stock in the eyes of scouts with his prolific four-game stretch in the College Football Playoff where he completed 75.3% of his pass attempts (82 of 109) for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions en route to hoisting a trophy.
“The thing that is important about that is, you know, I've played my best ball when the lights were the brightest,” Howard said. “I think I proved to people that I am best when the pressure's on. I was able to really just let it rip, man. I was just being confident. I was throwing the deep ball well. I was being accurate. Being able to go 13-for-13 to start the national championship was one of the better starts I've had to a game.”
But there’s still more to be done. Howard will work to dazzle teams in the interview process and will throw twice for all 32 NFL franchises – first at the combine on Saturday and again at Ohio State’s pro day on March 26.
There will be plenty of pressure on Howard to throw and test well over the next month if he wants to cement being at least a Day Two pick, but he’s already accustomed to bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“I learned a lot,” Howard said of his experience dealing with pressure from the CFP stretch. “And I was able to push myself and able to show teams that hopefully I can be that face of the franchise and I can be a starting quarterback in the NFL for a long time.”
