Michael Cohen

College football and college basketball writer

Shortly after Ohio State finished its spring play in mid-April, the Buckeyes’ coaching staff created an offseason roadmap of sorts for transfer quarterback Will Howard, a new addition from Kansas State. Head coach Ryan Day wanted to gain a deeper understanding and mastery of the system. New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly stressed to Howard the importance of improving his technique. Athletic director Mickey Marotti told Howard, who was listed at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds last season, to reshape his body during the team’s summer strength and conditioning workouts.

An inconsistent performance in the spring left the door open for Howard’s quarterback colleagues in a five-way race, with the biggest challenger being rising junior Devin Brown, who will serve as the backup to starter Kyle McCord in 2023. But if Howard could make noticeable progress in the above areas, coaches explained, he would be well positioned for Ohio State’s quarterback competition to resume in fall camp, a four-week sprint toward the season opener against Akron on Aug. 31.

“I think after the spring,” Day said, “everything was brand new. There was a significant change in terms of the game plan and what we ask of the quarterback.”

(Related: 2024 College Football Rankings: RJ Young’s Ultimate 134)

As exhaustive as such a to-do list might have seemed in April, Howard handled his first and only offseason in Columbus with aplomb. He toned and sculpted his body to 235 pounds. He came into fall camp with improved passing speed. He made quicker decisions in the pocket, reflecting his growing familiarity with the scheme. And he began to command the team huddle with exactly the kind of veteran presence Ohio State needed heading into one of its most anticipated seasons in years.

All in all, Howard’s progress was quick and big enough for Day to end the competition halfway through training camp — nearly a month earlier than the race between McCord and Brown was finally decided last year. Day told reporters in a press conference Thursday afternoon that Howard performed “significantly better” than the other quarterbacks when you add together his performances in the spring and the first two weeks of the preseason, a total of about 28 practices. That was enough for Howard to be officially named the Buckeyes’ starter ahead of Brown.

“I honestly feel like Will has taken control of the team over the last four or five days,” Day said. “I don’t think anyone in the locker room is going to be surprised.”

Ohio State’s Will Howard plays with Emeka Egbuka, who makes a RIDICULOUS one-handed catch

For many Ohio State fans and observers, this was the expected outcome from the moment Howard announced his decision to join the program in early January, forgoing a chance to enter the NFL Draft. Howard, who turns 23 in December, started 28 games in four seasons at Kansas State, including 12 starts during the 2023 season alone. During his time with the Wildcats, he threw for 5,786 yards and ran for 921 more while totaling 67 touchdowns, 19 of which came on the ground. He was selected to the All-Big 12 second team by the coaches last season after leading Kansas State to a 9-4 record and a 6-3 mark in conference play.

Performance aside, it was Howard’s tremendous experience advantage that Ohio State’s other quarterbacks struggled to overcome. Howard played at least 400 snaps in three different seasons at Kansas State and left the Wildcats with over 1,800 in his career. The other four scholarship quarterbacks on the Buckeyes’ roster will enter 2024 with a total of 164 snaps: Brown (104), Lincoln Kienholz (60), Julian Sayin (0) and Air Noland (0). Inexperience was one of the factors that derailed Day’s team last season, as McCord was unable to match the high level of his predecessors CJ Stroud and Justin Fields.

To put it simply, Howard is a far more proven caliber.

“What he’s accomplished now is pretty impressive,” Kelly said Thursday afternoon. “And you know he’s got experience, first and foremost: He’s been on the team. He’s been on the team in a lot of games and a lot of big games. So this is nothing new for him. Columbus is new for him, but playing college football is nothing new for him. I think that experience has really started to shine through here in camp, and I’m excited to see where he goes with it.”

That shine through, Day and Kelly say, has shown exactly the marriage of physicality and maturity they envisioned when Howard joined the Buckeyes in the winter — both of which are now highlighted by a roster of players far more talented than those present at Kansas State. Improved footwork and base have allowed Howard to throw with more momentum than he did in the spring. Howard’s obsession with watching film and quoting plays in Ohio State’s quarterback room has deepened Howard’s understanding of the offense. Through his efforts to transform his body, Howard was clocked at 22 miles per hour during a summer workout, faster than any of his competitors at the position.

The April schedule has been implemented. And Howard is ahead of schedule.

“A big part of it is his work ethic,” Day said. “He comes in early, he works hard, he studies film, he understands the schemes, he understands the structure of the route combinations and he’s done a good job in the run game.”

“When you play in this offense, as a quarterback you have to make a decision on every single play. There are very few opportunities to just hand the ball off and take a deep breath. We try to do that every now and then, but it doesn’t happen often. And he can handle it, and he’s done a good job of making sure he’s prepared for the preseason, and it shows.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with a focus on the Big Ten. Follow him on @Michael_Cohen13.

(Want great stories delivered straight to your inbox? Create or log in to a FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized daily newsletter.)

Get more out of college football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more