Things couldn’t have gone worse for Will Howard when he took the field for the second half of last year’s game at Texas.
With Kansas State trailing 17-7 at halftime, Howard — on the second play of the half — stepped up and threw an off-balance ball deep that hit receiver Keagan Johnson right in the hands. But Johnson bobbled it, leading to a Texas interception.
On the Wildcats’ next possession, Howard, in the face of pressure, got hit and fumbled on the Kansas State 5-yard line.
Texas scored three plays later to take a 17-point lead that the Longhorns extended to 27-7 by the four-minute mark of the third quarter. It appeared the Longhorns would blow out then-No. 23 Kansas State, but Howard rallied, leading three straight touchdown drives, tying the game with a 32-yard touchdown pass with just five minutes left. Howard was nearly perfect leading that comeback, completing 8-of-9 passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns in the three scoring drives.
Kansas State lost in overtime, but Howard put on a show tallying 327 yards and four touchdowns. That wasn’t his first big game, it was just the biggest of the 2023 season. He won the 2022 Big 12 championship over TCU, played Alabama in the 2022 Sugar Bowl and took Missouri to the final seconds last season.
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Each game provided a lesson to Howard, who transferred to Ohio State in January. As he prepares to lead the No. 2 Buckeyes into a showdown with No. 3 Oregon on Saturday, he reminisced on those games and the biggest thing he took away from them.
“The biggest thing is staying neutral and not getting too high and getting too low,” Howard said. “We know the emotions will be running high, we know the implications, we know it’s a big one. At the end of the day, you have to stay neutral.”
Howard has done a good job of being that calming presence for the Buckeyes so far this season. He’s not shattering records, but he brought consistency to one of the best offenses in the country.
Through five games, Ohio State is averaging 46 points, tied for fourth in the FBS. But Howard didn’t come to Ohio State to beat up on Michigan State, Iowa and a weak non-conference schedule. He came to play games like Saturday’s matchup against the Ducks. Is he ready?
When Ohio State coach Ryan Day began evaluating Howard in the transfer portal, one of the things he liked was Howard’s experience.
He has played in 39 career games to date. He’s won big games, like the 2022 Big 12 title game, and played plenty of close ones, too. But when looking at film, the result of those games aren’t as important as seeing what Howard did on the field.
The first thing that stood out to Day was Howard’s mobility.
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound quarterback ran 22 miles per hour this offseason, the fastest of Ohio State’s quarterbacks, and began getting more designed quarterback runs against Iowa. He had 28 yards and one touchdown on 10 carries in the game, but it’s not just Howard’s mobility on designed calls, it’s the way he extends plays.
That is important in big games, Day said.
“When you’re starting, you start backwards and try to reverse-engineer the whole roster and it starts with that,” Day said. “The ability to use your legs is really important because that becomes the X-factor. He can do that, it goes from there and we made that decision and felt like it was important for us.”
Most important for Ohio State, though, is preparation. Oregon’s defense isn’t as dominant as Ohio State’s on paper, but it’s still impressive. The Ducks rank 20th in stop rate, according to TruMedia, and are 21st in scoring, giving up just 17 points per game.
Howard has always been a film junkie. He enjoys watching the tendencies of other teams, finding what works and seeing that all come to fruition on the field. But preparation before a big game is different and he takes it a step further, he said.
“How can I be the first one in and last one out every single day? Maybe there’s something extra I can do this week,” Howard said. “You want to say you don’t treat any game bigger than another, but we know how big this one is. It’s going into the game being poised and confident and being as prepared as you possibly can.”
But it’s not just about being prepared, it’s about playing the game to that preparation.
“It’s easy when you’re a young player and get into a high-pressure situation to all of a sudden abandon your preparation,” Howard said. “You see that a lot with young quarterbacks.”
That hasn’t been the case with Howard, a fifth-year senior, this year.
When he arrived at Ohio State he said that he mentioned on multiple occasions that he didn’t have to be a superhero, he just had to play within offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s system.
Through five games he’s thrown for 1,248 yards, 12 touchdowns, three interceptions and is completing 71.5 percent of his passes. While Day said the mobility stood out on the tape, Howard’s accuracy also showed up in big games, especially in the red zone.
That’s been the case this season, too. Ohio State leads the country in red zone efficiency this year, scoring on all 21 opportunities and Howard’s accuracy and mobility play a big part in that. He’s 11 of 17 passing and has seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in the red zone, per TruMedia.
That’ll be key against an Oregon defense that has given up points in the red zone 91 percent of the time and touchdowns 58.3 percent of the time.
You could go down the line. Howard’s ability to throw under pressure will show up.
Can he get the ball out quick in the RPO game? Make the right reads on the intermediate throws and connect on the deep balls he’s missed in the past?
All of those will be questions, but nobody knows the answer, especially Day.
Howard has been on campus for nine months and though Ohio State’s staff has tried to replicate the high-pressure moments, it’s impossible for Day to know how somebody reacts until they are on the field together.
“It’s hard to evaluate that until you’re in it with them,” Day said.
Ohio State can rely on its preparation and the fact that when Howard’s back is against the wall, he usually finds a way out of the corner he’s in to make a play.
The 2023 Texas game was just an example of that, but Howard is hoping a win is the end result this time, not a three-point overtime loss.
Photo of Will Howard: Jason Mowry / Getty Images
