Howard: will run if needed but prefers to pass

COVER PHOTO: New Ohio State quarterback Will Howard talks to the media on Jan. 30, 2024 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center in his first official interview session with the team. Picture by Drew Sample/Columbus Wired.

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To say that new Ohio State quarterback Will Howard can run the football could be a tad bit of an understatement.

The four years he spent under center as a Kansas State Wildcat, the now-fifth-year senior took a fair amount of snaps tucking it and taking off.

“People saw me, believe it or not, as a running quarterback my first two years at K-State,” he said during a Tuesday morning interview session at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder was seen as such a running threat that he said there was a specific section on the team’s ‘game card’ that had his name on it, listing the types of runs designed just for him with the QB power play being one amongst several. A game card is what a QB wears on his arm that details what plays they will run at certain points of the game.

However, just because the dude can gallop doesn’t mean he wants to do it for the Buckeyes as often as he did for the Wildcats.

“That was my thing, but now … I feel like that’s not me.”

He said rushing as often as he did for the Wildcats wasn’t the reason he left Manhattan, Kan., rather it was because he sees himself as a pro-style passer and wants to play in a traditional pro-style offense, unlike the one he played in at Kansas State.

“The things that (head) coach (Ryan) Day does in his offense and (new offensive coordinator) coach (Bill) O’Brien does, I feel like it really fits my type of build, my type of player,” Howard said.

“Where I was coming from at K-State was a very run-heavy offense, especially quarterback run-heavy, which I was very happy to do and didn’t mind doing at all. I’m excited here to where I feel like … I can be that pocket passer and also use my legs when I need to. But I feel like my strength is in my arm.”

He said he wasn’t aware that O’Brien was going to be the new offensive coordinator when he decided on Jan. 4 to transfer to Ohio State. And when he talked with Day about the offense and what Day wanted him to do, running the football came up in the discussion but wasn’t the focal point.

“We’ve talked about it and I know when we need to run the quarterback, I’m going to run the ball. If we need to run the quarterback 16 times a game, I’ll do it. I’m one of those people where I don’t care, I just want to freaking go win. At the end of the day, I don’t care. Obviously, not ideal, probably.”

In 34 games played throughout his career - with 27 starts - Howard had 226 total rushes for 921 yards with 19 touchdowns and averaged 4.1 yards per carry.

Sure, those stats didn’t exactly set K- State’s record book ablaze, not even specifically compared to other KSU quarterbacks. But in comparison to some recent OSU QB’s, there’s no doubt Howard can bring an aspect of offensive firepower they’ve lacked since Justin Fields’ last game in 2020.

Fields was pretty solid when toting the rock. As the starter in 2019 and ‘20, he had 218 official rushes for 867 yards and 15 TD’s and finished third on the team in both of those seasons with 484 and 383 yards, respectively. However, those stats include sacks, which are counted as rushing yards in college. Excluding sacks, he actually ran 166 times for 1,243 yards.

The last three seasons, though, have seen somewhat of a dead spot in the 5G network when it comes to a mobile quarterback.

After Fields left and C.J. Stroud took over, Buckeye Nation stayed excited about the prospect of the team having a QB that could use their legs because they felt Stroud was going to pick up where Fields left off. Fans felt they would continue to see the QB light it up on the ground, especially considering Stroud’s only touchdown in 2020 was a 48-yard scamper in a 52-12 blowout against Michigan State. That was the only stat he logged in the two games he appeared that year.

But, Stroud being that next dual threat QB never really came to fruition.

In fact, Stroud sounded off about criticism throughout his first starting season as to why he wasn’t running the ball more often. He responded by saying he "threw the ball for a living and if it was his job to run, he’d be a running back."

He completed 2021 with 32 carries for negative 20 yards and no rushing touchdowns.

That didn’t necessarily go over too well for Buckeye fans.

However, Stroud (kind of) redeemed himself the next season when he had a 79-yard game against Northwestern - which was due to the fact that there were 50-plus mile per hour wind gusts that day - and in his final swan song against Georgia in the Peach Bowl semifinal when he managed to scramble at times for positive yardage when his receivers weren’t open.

He concluded that game with a single-game, career-high 12 carries for a single-game third-best 34 yards and finished 2022 with 47 carries for 108 yards but repeated the previous season with no rushing touchdowns.

Then this past year, OSU faithful witnessed a fairly heavy-footed clodhopper in Kyle McCord, whose shoes were filled with so much concrete that he seemed to stand like a statue in the pocket, taking more than one sack throughout that season that resulted in a fumble.

Much like Stroud’s first full season under center, McCord also concluded his year with 32 rushes for zero touchdowns and negative yards, 65 to be exact.

Last year alone, Howard amassed more rushing yards and TD’s than the entirety of Stroud and McCord’s careers combined with 351 yards and nine touchdowns on 81 carries.

However, a possible point of contention to Howard’s desire to be a passing quarterback are his stats.

In 12 games last year, he completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,643 yards on 357 attempts with 24 TD’s and 10 interceptions. McCord threw the ball 348 times and completed 66.5 percent for 3,170 yards, 24 TD's and six picks.

Stroud completed 71.9 percent of his passes in 2021 for 4,435 yards with 44 TD’s and 66 percent for 3,688 yards with 41 TD’s in 2022. His completion percentage in 2021 is currently tops in OSU’s record book while the yards rank second and third, respectively, for a single season and the TD passes rank second and tied-for third, respectively. The 41 TD's are tied with Fields’ 41 that he tossed in 2019.

Needless to say, Buckeye fans have been accustomed to their QB’s slinging the rock and doing it at a pretty efficient clip.

Some may say that comparing Howard’s stats to those Buckeyes preceding him might be unfair given the talent pool both he and previous OSU quarterbacks have worked with. The Wildcats have had three receivers drafted in the NFL in the past 16 years and none since Tyler Lockett in 2015.

Ohio State has had six since 2020.

And that number will most certainly increase in this year's upcoming draft to include receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. - whom most experts are picking in the top five at the very least - and tight end Cade Stover, who some consider as one of the top TE's in the draft and could go anywhere from the second to fourth round.

Others may counterpoint that the comparison is fair as Howard has faced lesser quality defenses than those Buckeye passers.

Of the 11 FBS teams Howard faced last year, four ranked in the top 35 for pass efficiency defense with Iowa State being the highest at No. 20.

McCord squared up against seven top 35 pass efficiency defenses including four in the top 12: Michigan (No. 3), Penn State (No. 11), Maryland (No. 12), and Notre Dame (No. 1). He passed a total of 131 times, completing 61 percent for 1,117 yards, five TD’s and two INT’s.

Ironically, Howard also threw 131 times, completing 61 percent. He totaled 879 yards, four TD’s and three picks.

Stats aside, Howard is confident he'll be ready for the B1G time.

“People can say what they want about me, it’s in one ear and out the other. Obviously it’s hard balancing that stuff but I’ve learned to kind of block it out and just try to be me and trust God and just be the best version of myself every day, that’s all you can do.”

At the end of the day, whether he’s flinging the rock downfield to a host of talented receivers or tucking the pigskin into his bicep and sidestepping defenders for extra yardage, Howard said that his time in Manhattan and playing for the Wildcats toughened him up and got him ready to tackle the challenges and all of the responsibilities that come with being an Ohio State quarterback.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t feel like I was ready for it,” Howard said. “My time at K-State kind of hardened me and obviously it wasn’t on the stage that this necessarily is but I’m ready. I feel like nothing that is worth getting ever comes easy and I feel like this opportunity here was too good to pass up.”