It’s official! The newest Ohio State quarterback to lose to Michigan football has been decided.
Kansas State transfer Will Howard will be the starting signal-caller for the Buckeyes this season, head coach Ryan Day announced Thursday.
Of course, this decision comes following Kyle McCord’s decision to transfer to Syracuse after the team’s loss to Michigan in 2023.
Before McCord, Houston Texans QB and NFL Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud finished 0-2 against the Wolverines.
Can Howard make up for the less than 27 points per game scored by Day’s teams since promising they would “hang 100” on Michigan?
Only time can tell.
What to Know About Will Howard
Howard transferred from Kansas State, where he threw for 5,786 yards and ran for 921 in four seasons.
He’s a mobile quarterback that will blend in perfectly with a Chip Kelly-led offense that relies on dual-threats under center. Despite having 28 starts in his career, he’s had less than 25 passing attempts in nearly 15 of his appearances while running for over 100 yards once since 2020.
For all the mobile QB talk, in a run-heavy KSU offense, he only eclipsed 60 rushing yards four times from 2021-2023.
His completion percentage was solid at over 60-percent, he threw an interception in five-straight games to open the season last year, including three in the final game of that stretch. He had less than 20 passing attempts in the next three games, including not starting against Texas Tech (nine attempts).
Is Will Howard an Upgrade from Kyle McCord?
With Ryan Day letting McCord walk out of Columbus, many wonder: Is Howard better than McCord?
Unfortunately, the numbers suggest otherwise.
Howard is certainly the better runner – 9 rushing touchdowns in 2023 – and he gets an upgrade at offensive coordinator (Kelly) compared to his predecessor’s play-caller (Day).
Still, looking at this from every angle, he’s far from a sure thing and is more or less the only scheme fit left in the transfer portal at that time.
We still have some time between now and The Game, but we’ll see what Ohio State’s newest solution to their Michigan problem is made of when he starts in their opener.
