One of the biggest things to keep an eye on as Ohio State opened Fall Camp was who, if anyone, was separating at quarterback. The Ohio State quarterback battle was marketed as, essentially, a five-way battle among all five scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. As Spring practices, Summer workouts, and now Fall camp developed, a couple of quarterbacks started to separate themselves.
Now, after only a few practices in August, it seems like the battle may have been decided, albeit unofficially. Head coach Ryan Day will more than likely keep the decision close to the vest for a few more weeks. Whether that decision is due to an attempt to earn a competitive edge or a way to make sure the quarterbacks keep pushing each other, Day is known for taking his time.
Will Howard looks like he’s stepped up for the Buckeyes.
Will Howard May Have Unofficially Won the Ohio State Quarterback Battle
Heading into 2024, Ohio State’s five-man quarterback room was Howard and then a bunch of unproven talents. Howard has 28 starts (34 total appearances), 5,787 passing yards, 48 passing touchdowns, 921 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, and a Big 12 Championship. The rest of the room? All four other quarterbacks combine to have 328 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 26 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. Howard’s career-best game was against Texas last year where he threw for 327 yards and four touchdowns, to put that into perspective.
It would be a massive understatement to say it would be disappointing if Howard did not outright win the job. According to multiple on-the-ground reports, it looks like Howard has done just that.
A Different Quarterback
Entering Fall Camp last week, Day made it a point to praise Howard. Day and his staff challenged Howard to work on himself, physically, and he reportedly passed. On the first day of camp, Day said to reporters of Howard:
“He got challenged (to change his body). He looks different, he’s moving different. He worked hard on that. Changed his diet, changed his workout plan, and dedicated himself in the offseason, and you’re seeing that right now,” Day said. “Now he has to sustain that throughout the season. I don’t know what he weighed in today, but he’s moving well for his size. He certainly lost some weight, but then put on some good weight.”
Howard already had a solid build to be a successful quarterback. He looks to be taking the most of the opportunity in the Ohio State quarterback battle. His physicality was not the biggest question mark heading into his 2024 season. However, it doesn’t hurt that he shed bad weight and replaced it with muscle. Howard is listed at six-foot-four and 237 pounds and every report out of camp says he’s every bit of that.
Already, Howard is a Heisman candidate (it’s really early) and was named to the Maxwell Award watchlist.
Making Big Plays
In the passing game, Howard is known for being able to push the ball down the field. At Kansas State, 12.8% of his attempts in 2023 were over 20-plus yards down the field and he completed 32.6% for six scores. In 2022, when he won the Big 12, Howard was a bit more prolific pushing the ball down the field. 19.1% of his attempts were 20-plus yards and he completed 42.1% with six scores.
In comparison, Kyle McCord’s deep-ball rate last year was 13.6% while completing 50% with six touchdowns. However, the wide receiver talent at Ohio State is going to be significantly better than at Kansas State. There will be more downfield opportunities as Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate, and/or Jeremiah Smith create separation and Howard can let it fly. On the final play of Sunday practice, Howard pushed the ball downfield to a wide-open Brandon Inniss who was so open it was described as an easy pitch and catch.
The area that will be vastly different than McCord will be Howard’s ability to run the ball. On Saturday, Howard pulled the ball down and took off for what would have been an 85-yard touchdown on the ground if it had not been blown dead. Would a Buckeye defender have caught him from behind? Possibly, however, just having the explosive potential at quarterback is enough.
Between C.J. Stroud and McCord, Ohio State quarterbacks have not been anywhere close to being a rushing threat. Now, Ohio State has a legitimate rushing threat in a quarterback with the size to back it up.
Given the Keys
The Ohio State quarterback battle has been the center of all of the attention ever since 00:00 on the clock at the Cotton Bowl. Obviously judging Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz based on their performances in that game was short-sighted. There were no Buckeyes on offense who had a good game that night. At the same time, it was a big reason why Day and his staff brought Howard in. They could have recruited a number of portal quarterbacks but stuck with Howard.
For Sunday’s practice, the fourth of Fall Camp, Howard took nearly every first-team snap. The one snap he didn’t take with the first-teamers was actually a pick-six thrown by talented freshman, Julian Sayian. Brown has been working almost exclusively with the second-team offense.
Howard was a Second-Team All-Big 12 quarterback at Kansas State. That was with Kansas State-level talent around him. Now, he has Ohio State-level talent.
The Ohio State quarterback battle features plenty of talent and in today’s world, someone is going to end up transferring out, unfortunately. However, with the expectations surrounding the program, the Buckeyes need a guy they can rely on and know exactly what they’re getting. That quarterback is Howard. there is always a possibility that one of the young quarterbacks (or Tavien St. Clair, the 2025 commit) ends up better than Howard. For 2024, Howard is the guy.
The Buckeyes were a half-step away from beating Michigan a year ago. If the Ohio State offensive line had passed off the Michigan stunt and not fallen on their faces, McCord had Marvin Harrison, Jr. wide open for the potential game-winner. The Buckeyes return nearly everyone from that team.
In reality, Howard needs to just be better than McCord. Which he is.
