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Why did Will Howard transfer to Ohio State? Explaining Kansas State departure
Video: Ohio State’s Egbuka talks about relationship with Texas’ Ewers
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Emeka Egbuka discusses former teammate, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers shortly after the team arrived in Dallas on Jan. 8.
Rewind to Week 8 of the 2023 season, and Will Howard found himself on the bench in the second half of Kansas State’s game against Texas Tech.
Howard, who attempted only one pass in the second half of the game, was relieved by true freshman Avery Johnson, who scored five rushing touchdowns as Wildcats coach Chris Klieman said the quarterback-run game was open. Johnson’s performance led to Kansas State’s 38-21 win that night.
Fast forward a year, and Howard is in a position no one saw coming. After losing his role for a short time in 2023, the fifth-year senior has Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinal and has thrown for a CFP-leading 630 yards with five touchdowns in two dominant wins over Tennessee and Oregon.
The 6-foot-4 signal caller heads into the Buckeyes’ Cotton Bowl matchup with Texas on Friday with 3,490 passing yards with 32 touchdowns to nine interceptions this season, putting himself on the NFL draft radar.
While Howard took the majority of the snaps the rest of the way for Kansas State, he did surrender some work to the Wildcats’ young phenom in 2023. His transfer to Ohio State has been clearly the right move for the Downing, Pennsylvania, native.
Here’s everything to know about Howard’s transfer last offseason, and how he has excelled at Ohio State this season:
Why did Will Howard transfer to Ohio State?
Howard never explicitly stated his reasoning to leave Kansas State, however, with one extra season of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard likely wanted to play for a team ready to compete at the national stage.
Howard likely wasn’t going to achieve that at Kansas State, although he went 12-5 as the starter there in 2022 and 2023 with a 2022 Big 12 championship win over TCU, who reached the national championship that season. He also knew he’d be one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks available in a year where numerous teams had a spot to fill, along with respecting that the Wildcats had Johnson in waiting.
Ohio State, of course, also had a spot open, as Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal despite throwing for 3,170 yards with 24 touchdowns to six interceptions last season. All signs pointed to the Buckeyes taking a quarterback regardless of McCord’s move, however, to promote competition for the spot after some of McCord’s blunders in big games.
Howard took official visits to Miami, USC and Ohio State, and ultimately chose the Buckeyes due to the opportunity to win a national championship, plus the exposure on the national stage that would hopefully improve his NFL draft stock.
“The goal I have, I want to go win a national championship,” Howard told ESPN after committing. “At the end of the day, I want to go be a starting quarterback in the NFL. … I feel like the best place to stick as a quarterback in the NFL is as a first- or second-round pick in the NFL draft. Going to Ohio State gives me a chance to make a jump and leap into that conversation.”
Howard nearly entered the NFL draft last offseason, especially after landing a coveted invite from the Senior Bowl. However, he seemingly thought that a season at Ohio State would do more for his chances than leaving last season.
Howard made huge strides as a passer during his time at Kansas State, going from a run-first quarterback to a consistent passer. His biggest jump came at Ohio State, however, as his completion percentage rose to 72.6% this season, over 10 points higher than his previous best of 61.3% in 2023.
Howard said his production at Kansas State didn’t match what he thought of himself as a player, and that rung true after his showing with the Buckeyes this season.
“The week before I committed here I received a Senior Bowl invite,” Howard told reporters at his introductory press conference last January. “That was probably the thing I was closest to doing was going in the draft. I was projected a third- to sixth-round pick, that’s what I was hearing. You can never really trust everything you hear, but that was consensus what I was hearing.
“I just felt like I had the opportunity and felt like my talent level didn’t match where my stock was. And I felt like I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to try and bump that up and go somewhere to compete for a national championship.”
Will Howard stats
Here are Howard’s year-by-year college stats:
- 2020 (Kansas State): 90 of 168 passing (53.6%) for 1,178 yards with eight touchdowns to 10 interceptions; 78 rushes for 364 yards with three touchdowns
- 2021 (Kansas State): 30 of 55 passing (54.5%) for 332 yards with a touchdown to an interception; 32 rushes for 184 yards with four touchdowns
- 2022 (Kansas State): 119 of 199 passing (59.8%) for 1,633 yards with 15 touchdowns to four interceptions; 35 rushes for 22 yards with three touchdowns
- 2023 (Kansas State): 219 of 357 passing (61.3%) for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdowns to 10 interceptions; 81 rushes for 351 yards with nine touchdowns
- 2024 (Ohio State): 268 of 369 passing (72.6%) for 3,490 yards with 32 touchdowns to nine interceptions; 82 rushes for 165 yards with seven touchdowns
Snow hits downtown Columbus
Snow falls outside the Ohio Theatre as downtown Columbus turns into a winter wonderland.
Now comes the cold.
After nearly 5½ inches of snow fell Dec. 13 in some parts of central Ohio, the National Weather Service says bitterly cold temperatures moving into the region will mean highs in just the single digits.
A cold weather advisory is in affect across central Ohio through 11 a.m. Dec. 15. It was 4 degrees at John Glenn Columbus International Airport at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 14, with a wind chill of 16 degrees below zero.
Temperatures to the west and south are even colder: 1 degree in Springfield, minus-1 in Dayton and minus-3 in Indianapolis. Those temperatures are not expected in the Columbus area, though. The forecast calls for slightly warmer temperatures by evening and highs in the low 20s Dec. 15.
The record cold expected for Dec. 14 — until now, the coldest high temperature in Columbus for this date was 16 degrees in 1917 — follows a day of record snow. The weather service recorded 5.4 inches of snowfall on Dec. 13 at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, topping the prior Dec. 13 record, which was 3.6 inches in 1945.
Level 2 snow emergencies, which means roads are hazardous and people should drive only if they think it’s necessary, remained in effect in Fairfield and Licking counties.
Level 1 snow emergencies are in effect in Delaware, Franklin, Madison, Union and Pickaway counties.
Bob Vitale can be reached at rvitale@dispatch.com.
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio State’s game-winning play over West Virginia in the second overtime period Saturday night was simple: give the ball to Bruce Thornton and get out of his way.
The result was an 89-88 double overtime win in the Cleveland Hoops Showdown at Rocket Arena.
It took so much to get to this moment.
The Buckeyes did all they could in regulation to overcome a 14-point deficit, while awaiting their top player in Thornton to come through.
His teammates did the dirty work to keep them in the game. From their defense creating transition points, matching the Mountaineers’ physical brand of ball.
Once extra time came after the first 40 minutes expired, Thornton took care of the rest in the two overtime periods.
He delivered bucket after another.
None more important than the final one.
A tightly covered Thornton took it down to the top of the key before finding a mismatch and looking to take it to the hole. A defender cut off his path, however, forcing Thornton to operate elsewhere in the paint.
Thornton used his pivot foot wisely before finding an opening for a fadeaway jumper and knocking it down.
Twelve of his 21 points came in the overtime periods.
Ohio State fought to the end and earned a win over a hard-nosed Big 12 opponent.
Center Christoph Tilly did his best to limit the Mountaineers’ big men, while adding 14 points and 11 boards of his own.
Freshman big man Amare Bynum was a pivotal spark off the bench with 17 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Point guard John Mobley Jr. finished with 17 points and delivered the 3-point shot in the final seconds of the second half to give them their first lead since the 9:00 mark of the first half.
This story will be updated.
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Is Ohio State football playing today? What’s next for Buckeyes in playoff schedule | Sporting News
It’s a college football Saturday, but Dec. 13 is just a little bit different.
Ohio State and all its other College Football Playoff competitors will be on the couch.
The Army-Navy game highlights the day.
There’s also the first bowl game, the LA Bowl between Boise State and Washington.
And the FCS Playoffs roll on, as well.
Is Ohio State playing today?
No, Ohio State isn’t playing on Saturday, Dec. 13.
The CFP isn’t underway, and the Buckeyes have a bye in that even when it gets started.
When is Ohio State’s next game?
Ohio State won’t play again until Dec. 31.
That’ll be the Cotton Bowl.
They don’t know their opponent yet, either. It’ll depend on the CFP opening round matchup between Miami and Texas A&M.
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