Inside quarterback Will Howard's decision to transfer to Ohio State
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- When Will Howard entered the transfer portal, his decision came down to two choices: declare for the NFL draft or join Ohio State.
"There was a lot of different options for me and I thought they were all good options," Howard said. "I didn't think any of them were as good as this one."
In the end, the former Kansas State quarterback decided to come to Columbus. He discussed the process of coming to Ohio State at length with reporters at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday morning.
"There was a lot of reasons why, but when I got to the end, it was more, 'Why not?' I just felt like this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up on," Howard said.
Howard said right before he committed to the Buckeyes, he got an invite to the Senior Bowl, where he would have showcased his skills in front of NFL scouts.
"That was probably the thing I was closest to doing," Howard said.
The West Chester, Pennsylvania, native said he's had multiple conversations with pro scouts leading up to his decision to stay in college football. The advice he got from them ultimately led Howard to forego declaring for the draft.
"I feel like the resounding thing that I heard from these NFL guys and from people around the league was, 'You need to play more. And we need to see more high-level play.' And I feel like I played a lot of football in my time at K-State, but I only had one year where I was the true starter," Howard said.
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In his four years in Manhattan, Howard played in 34 games, throwing for 48 touchdowns and 5,786 yards. He added 19 rushing touchdowns and 921 yards and helped the Wildcats win the Big 12 championship in 2022 over TCU.
But Howard said the talent at Ohio State is unmatched.
"I love my guys at K-State, but the talent here is unbelievable," Howard said. "Just being around the guys, the thing that impressed me about the receiver room is how driven they are."
Describing the recruiting process as "long," "hard" and at-times "rushed," Howard leaned on his faith to make the decision that was right for him.
"I just prayed and trusted God and knew that his plan for me would be greater. And that I would end up where I was meant to be," Howard said.
In Columbus, Howard will be working with Bill O'Brien, who was named Ohio State's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Jan. 19. O'Brien brings 34 years of coaching experience to the Buckeyes, including head coaching stints at Penn State and for the NFL's Houston Texans. Most recently, O'Brien was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the New England Patriots this past season.
"He seems just very relatable, someone that I can get along with really well," Howard said. "Very smart. I mean, he's been around for how long doing this and has done some really, really good things at some really big time places."
Now, Howard looks to make a similar impact and a big name program. He knows the responsibility comes with all sorts of pressure that he didn't experience at Kansas State.
"I wouldn't be here if I didn't feel like I was ready for it. My time at K-State kinda hardened me and obviously it wasn't on the stage that this necessarily is," Howard said. "But I'm ready. Nothing that is worth getting ever comes easy. This opportunity here was just too good to pass up."