Brandon Inniss gets questions about Will Howard, the most talked-about quarterback in Ohio State’s high-profile competition to start behind center.
They come from teammates, asking for his assessment of the veteran transfer from Kansas State.
The exchanges prompt him to point to Howard’s leadership.
“Everybody listens to him when he’s in the huddle,” Inniss said. “He’s the commander. A lot of the quarterbacks have been very good, but he’s been on a different level.”
A day after Buckeyes coach Ryan Day seemingly moved closer to naming Howard as the frontrunner in the battle, impressed by him taking more of a command of the offense in preseason training camp, those tasked with catching passes from the quarterback were in sync.
They concurred that Howard had taken strides since spring practice, looking more comfortable as the signal caller.
The consensus among the handful of wide receivers is that Howard has been more at ease.
“He’s definitely getting more comfortable,” redshirt freshman Bryson Rodgers said. “He’s been a great aspect to this team. He’s a great voice in the locker room, great energy.”
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The demeanor has translated to the fields outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, where the Buckeyes have been practicing since camp opened last week.
“You can feel his fifth-year presence when he steps onto the field,” senior Emeka Egbuka said. “Gets in the huddle, takes command of it, lets everybody know their assignments and what they got. Like a field general out there.
“He has tremendous confidence in his ability, so that that bleeds out throughout the entire offense, and we’re able to play fast.”
Howard is loose enough that he’s even been willing to partake in a little trash talking during competitive periods.
“I like his confidence,” said Jeremiah Smith, the Buckeyes’ hyped freshman receiver. “He’s starting to talk more, talk a lot of mess on the field. I love quarterbacks that like to talk.”
Not always PG, either.
“He says a lot of stuff I can’t say,” Smith said, “but he’ll talk for sure.”
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The passage of time has allowed Howard to settled in at Ohio State. He only transferred to the school in January.
Spring practice required him to digest a new playbook and become more familiar with teammates. The timing between a quarterback and receivers remains paramount.
When Howard met with reporters earlier this week, he described the experience as like drinking from a fire hose.
“It’s something where you’re in a new environment,” Egbuka said. “You got to get accustomed to the people. You got to get accustomed to the new offense. So it’s all coming with time, and he just continues to get better and better every practice.”
The receivers don’t see the trajectory changing, holding high hopes for the athletic 6-foot-4 quarterback.
“Will’s a great quarterback,” Rodgers said, “and he just going to keep growing and keep becoming better and better for this team.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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