Ohio State football brought in Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard in hopes of returning to the top of the sport. While it may take a few months to assess the decision, the 23-year-old is giving fans some reasons to worry, even with a 7-1 start to the season.
During Saturday’s road game against Penn State, Howard threw a pick-six and fumbled when he should have scored a rushing touchdown in the first half. Despite these mistakes, he made enough key plays to help the Buckeyes secure a 20-13 victory, throwing for two touchdowns and running for a crucial first down that sealed the game against the Nittany Lions. However, both Howard and head coach Ryan Day are not ignoring these errors.
The prospect of Ohio State winning a ninth national championship becomes challenging if quarterback performance remains inconsistent. Even with a strong defense and a powerful rushing attack that helped Howard during the game at Beaver Stadium, dealing with untimely turnovers could be detrimental in the College Football Playoff.
“Well, it can’t happen,” Day stated to reporters on Tuesday, as quoted by Yardbarker’s Andrew Kulha. “We’ve got to take care of the football… It turned into a four-quarter game because of that. If we take care of the ball better, it doesn’t have to be that way. So he understands that.”
Can Will Howard validate Ryan Day’s faith?
Howard likely experienced some jitters playing before a record-setting crowd in the place he longed to call home as a child (he hails from Downingtown, Pennsylvania). Thus, securing that victory in Week 10 may serve as a form of therapy for the young quarterback.
He is currently completing an impressive 73.2% of his passes, throwing for 1,977 yards and 19 touchdowns (with five interceptions). In addition, Howard has contributed five rushing touchdowns.
This player brings the versatility and offensive talent necessary to thrive in Ohio State football this season; he just needs to improve his awareness during critical moments. Ryan Day had faith in Will Howard back in January and will continue to support him as the season approaches its conclusion.
No. 18 has favorable matchups against Purdue and Northwestern in the next two weeks, providing an opportunity to eliminate mistakes before the pressure mounts once more.
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