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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Maureen Howard glanced out of her window at 11 p.m. and found her son, Will, playing football by himself in the front yard.

The porch light and front floodlights were the only things giving him light, while he snapped the ball, took his drop and evaluated the field in front of him.

Once he got to the top of his drop, he lined up and did it again. And again. And again. Midnight came. And sometimes later, to the point that Maureen had to tell Howard to come inside. But it was all mental work for Howard, who was entering his sophomore year at Downingtown West High School in Pennsylvania.

He was in the middle of a year-long quarterback battle, a sophomore trying to take the starting job from a senior, but to make it fair for everybody involved the coach, Mike Milano, and his coaching staff tracked everything in practice. It meant, there was no time for mistakes if Howard wanted to start, so the extra work came at home when nobody could see him.

That’s who Howard has been his whole life. He’s still that way at Ohio State. While he might not be on the field until midnight, he’s in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for countless hours watching film.

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka is widely respected for his work ethic behind the scenes and is usually one of the last players out of the facility at night. This offseason, particularly in preseason camp, there was always one car there every time he left: Howard’s.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever stayed at the Woody longer than him,” Egbuka said.

Will Howard (18) grew up a Penn State fan and will face off with the Nittany Lions on Saturday as Ohio State’s starting quarterback. (Joseph Maiorana / Imagn Images)

Howard’s personality is rooted in that work ethic. He’s not flashy, and he doesn’t seek attention or affirmation from people he doesn’t know because he believes in himself. And he does not need to be in the spotlight.

It’s why his comments, after the win against Nebraska, were such a big deal. Asked how excited he was for Saturday’s top-five matchup at Penn State, he said he was “stoked.”

“I grew up a Penn State fan. I wanted to go there my whole life,” he said. “They didn’t think I was good enough. I guess we’ll see next week if I was.”

Ever since his youth football days, Howard has been proving people wrong, and Saturday’s homecoming gives him a chance to show his growth in the state where it all started. Howard was a simple kid growing up in Downingtown, Pa., about two and a half hours from Penn State.

He loved his family, sports, playing outside with his dad, Bob, and Penn State. Nearly everybody in his hometown is a Penn State fan. His father and uncle graduated from Penn State. His younger sister, Tori, is currently a senior at Penn State.

So when he announced he was going to transfer to Ohio State, it caught everybody in town off guard.

“We heard from so many friends saying, ‘You’re making this hard on us,’” Maureen said with a laugh.

But the reality was that Penn State just wasn’t the place for him. Don’t get that confused. Growing up, Howard wanted to play for the Nittany Lions.

James Franklin rode a helicopter to his games, which was such a big deal that it made the school district website at the time. But Howard always has flown under the radar, in part because of who he is and some unforeseen circumstances.

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After taking a sack during his junior year, Howard broke his throwing arm, keeping him from doing any workouts in what is a crucial time for any player’s recruitment. Once he healed, he broke his other wrist, dunking a basketball. Although that one wasn’t as bad, he still went to offseason camps in a cast.

During that time, numerous colleges dialed back their interest, including Penn State. The Nittany Lions signed three-star recruit Micah Bowens instead.

That was hard for the family to watch, at first. Howard saw other players around him and knew he was as good, or better, than people who were getting more national recognition. But much like now, Howard internalized that and turned it into motivation.

“There was some frustration, and I think that fueled Will,” Maureen said. “He’s like, ‘There’s people who say I can’t play Power 5 football. Well, watch me.’ I don’t think he’d be the player he is today without everything.”

“He loves being the underdog,” Bob said.

That mentality has fueled Howard for much of his career, but when he’s on the field, he doesn’t feel like an underdog. Howard has a confidence that rubs off on the entire Ohio State offense and program.

It was the same way in his first year as a starting quarterback in high school. After beating out a senior for the starting job, he worked to earn the respect of the rest of the upperclassmen. He didn’t do it with some grand gesture, Milano said; he did it by just being Howard.

Milano knows saying a player has “it” is a sports cliche, but that’s the best way he can describe Howard. He has “it,” but “it” shows up in different ways for players.

For some, it’s making the big play in the biggest moment, which is the case for Howard, too. His 75-yard drive to beat Nebraska on Saturday was important for Ohio State’s season aspirations, but the calm and poise he plays with during those moments stand out.

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One of Howard’s longtime friends is Penn State offensive tackle Drew Shelton. Shelton is two years younger than Howard, so when Howard was a senior, Shelton was taking his first offensive line snaps for Downingtown West.

One of his lasting memories of Howard was the way he came into the huddle against Garnet Valley, one of the perennial powers in Pennsylvania high school football, and steadied the team despite early struggles.

“Just being calm and collected and knowing that it’s going to work out, that’s the kind of leader he is,” Shelton said. “That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Those moments in high school set the tone for an adversity-filled college career right away. As a freshman, Howard got COVID-19 soon after arriving back on campus in June and then played major time when starting quarterback Skylar Thompson was injured. Howard then bounced in and out of the starting lineup but remained focused on the ultimate goal of winning and helping the Wildcats win a Big 12 title.

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He has carried that over to Ohio State where he has found ways to lead in hard times. Howard took the Oregon loss hard, knowing the clock ran out with the ball in his hands. But behind the scenes, he has been one of Ohio State’s most vocal leaders.

“It falls on the shoulders of a quarterback to rally a team,” Egbuka said. “He took it personally, but he’s been vocal about everything in practice and establishing what he wants our identity to be as a team.”

Now, he gets a chance at redemption. A top-five matchup in his home state is huge, but as Howard tells Bob often, it’s “just a 100-yard field.”

And just like old times, he’ll be dropping back, reading the defense with the floodlights on him. This time, however, there will be 100,000-plus people watching him.

(Top photo: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — As Hurricane Helene devastated parts of North Carolina and other surrounding states, the impact is having affects across the country.

Baxter International, a global medical device company that provides products and services for patients and healthcare professionals, was significantly affected by the hurricane at their Marion, North Carolina, manufacturing facility.

Having been closed since Sept. 29 after the hurricane hit, the facility was responsible for producing approximately 1.5 million bags of IV solution per day, supplying about 60% of the IV solutions used in the United States, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Gov. Kristi Noem and four fellow Republican governors in urged President Joe Biden on Oct. 17 to immediately address the shortage of IV fluid.

“Hospital and health systems across our states are employing conservation strategies and exploring alternatives to protect sound clinical care in our states. But conservation strategies have limited effectiveness and are not sustainable strategies without increased production and reliable access,” wrote Gov. Noem and her colleagues.

The letter requested specific actions be taken including collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration to identify international manufacturers capable of producing sterile IV solutions and their containers; removal of any barriers preventing the importation of sterile IV and peritoneal dialysis solutions from abroad and that the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice should be on alert for any instances of price gouging related to this shortage.

Since the closure of the plant, the South Dakota Department of Health said they have been actively working with South Dakota healthcare systems and other providers across the state to address the IV fluid shortage caused by the closure of the Baxter International facility.

According to the Department of Health, South Dakota healthcare facilities are implementing strategies to conserve IV fluids and prevent shortages. These strategies include using different delivery methods for medications as appropriate, focusing on good oral hydration and limiting waste.

David Basel, doctor of pediatrics and internal medicine at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center in Sioux Falls, said that while they have conservation strategies in place, they have been successful in not having much of an affect on patient care.

“They may get a few more requests to orally hydrate before or if they come in with vomiting and diarrhea, they may see that we work a little bit harder to get them to drink in the emergency room, rather than just popping them on the fluids,” Basel said.

Although Basel said their efforts to lower their use has caused an increase in workflow, it’s still business as usual from a patient perspective.

“We’ve been really very effective in dropping down our utilization,” Basel said. “Right now we’re in a reasonable place where we’re kind of matching and not having to cancel procedures or anything like that.”

In a statement, Sanford Health said they are not seeing any significant changes due to the shortage when providing care for their patients.

“Sanford Health is not currently experiencing any significant shortage of IV fluids in our hospitals and clinics. We continue to monitor supply and have initiated conservation efforts to support those that are experiencing shortages. At this point we are not postponing any surgeries, including elective surgeries, due to shortages in IV fluids.”

According to an Oct. 24 update in a press release, barring any unanticipated developments, Baxter anticipates restarting IV solution manufacturing within the next week.