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Why did Will Howard transfer to Ohio State? Explaining Kansas State departure

Published

11 months ago

January 10, 2025

Why did Will Howard transfer to Ohio State? Explaining Kansas State departure

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

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Why Ohio State is built to ‘wake up and move on’ from a loss before the College Football Playoff

Published

5 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Why Ohio State is built to ‘wake up and move on’ from a loss before the College Football Playoff

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Breathe in. Breathe out.

The dust has settled on Ohio State football’s last contest: a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game. Nearly 10 days have passed since the offensive line struggled to hold up, since the offense struggled to convert in the red zone and since the Buckeyes failed to accomplish one of their three major goals.

As is often the case at OSU, a loss is accompanied by anger, questions, concerns and aches.

“Sick to my stomach that we lost,” quarterback Julian Sayin said last week.

Now, after a week centered around College Football Playoff bracket debates and Heisman Trophy celebrations, Ohio State is looking to move on from the defeat in Indianapolis.

It should have little issue doing so.

The Buckeyes were in a similar, albeit more emotional and pressure-packed, situation last year. They entered the CFP off a loss, falling in shocking fashion to rival Michigan.

The final score of that contest: 13-10.

Ohio State went through some rigorous soul-searching, with coach Ryan Day and players having an emotional team meeting in which many on the roster expressed their frustrations with how the regular season ended.

The loss to Indiana isn’t as complicated. It’s simply a loss. However, the Buckeyes have experience flushing defeats before a postseason run.

“You’ve got to wake up and move on,” Day said.

As was the case last season, losing doesn’t diminish something apparent: Ohio State is a good team loaded with talent on its roster.

The Buckeyes are still betting favorites to go back-to-back this season, and statistics show why. They lead the nation in scoring defense and total defense while ranking in the top 25 of both categories on offense.

Ohio State has a slow and methodical approach on offense, but Day has expressed belief in his team’s ability to step on the pedal when appropriate. With Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith at receiver and Sayin under center, that belief shouldn’t falter.

“There’s still a bunch of guys in this room that know we can play with anybody in the country and beat anybody in the country when we’re on our game,” Day said.

The most pressing question left for Ohio State to answer before the CFP relates to offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. The Buckeyes’ play-caller was hired ahead of the Big Ten title game as South Florida’s next head coach.

Hartline called plays against Indiana, according to Day, and the plan is for him to do the same in the CFP. If there are concerns about his ability to balance two jobs, Day has a solution: time

USF announced Hartline’s hiring three days before Ohio State took the field at Lucas Oil Stadium. While also balancing the opening of the early signing period, Day had little opportunity to sit back and determine what was best for his offense.

The Cotton Bowl won’t present those challenges. Two-seeded Ohio State returns to action on Dec. 31 where it’ll meet the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami in Dallas.

By then, Day will have had time to take a breath, assess the situation and determine who will run his offense.

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Columbus schools closed Monday, Dec. 15 after snowfall, cold

Published

17 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Columbus schools closed Monday, Dec. 15 after snowfall, cold

Columbus City Schools is closing Monday, Dec. 15, after a weekend winter storm dumped more than 5.4 inches of snow on the region and cold temperatures descended.

Following the weekend snowfall, a cold weather advisory was issued for the area, to remain 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.

Late on Dec. 14, CCS posted it would close Dec. 15 “due to inclement weather.” See more school closings at NBC 4 or check back with the Dispatch throughout the morning.

This list will be updated as additional information becomes available. School districts are encouraged to send an email with any delays or closures to newsroom@dispatch.com.

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Single-digit temps, below-zero wind chills hit central Ohio after snow

Published

1 day ago

December 14, 2025

Press Room

Single-digit temps, below-zero wind chills hit central Ohio after snow

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.

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