Kansas State Quarterback Will Howard Transferring To Ohio State

Kansas State starting quarterback Will Howard is transferring to Ohio State.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first with the news.

“When I started talking to Ohio State, everything kind of lined up,” Howard told ESPN. “I had a list of things I was looking for, in terms of needing to go somewhere where there was a lot of talent around me and…compete for a national championship.”

THE Ohio State University.

Thank you God!! pic.twitter.com/FTVlrYEaZK
— Will Howard (@whoward_) January 5, 2024

According to Thamel, the OSU staff evaluated all of the portal quarterbacks and landed on Howard as their best option, citing his arm strength, experience, and mobility.

Howard (6-5 242) has 27 career starts to his credit, which will bolster an OSU quarterback room that currently has just one career start among its three scholarship quarterbacks.

This past season for the Wildcats, Howard completed 219-of-357 passes (61.3%) for 2,643 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 351 yards on 81 attempts (4.3 ypc) with nine touchdowns. Howard also caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in KSU’s season opener against Southeast Missouri State.

Howard started all 12 regular season games this season before entering the transfer portal prior to the postseason. Howard lead Kansas State to an 8-4 record, including a 30-27 loss at Missouri when the Tigers won the game on a 61-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Howard completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards with three touchdowns and one interception against the Tigers.

Howard started at least three games in each of his four years at Kansas State, though the 2023 season was the first in which he entered the year as the Wildcats true starting quarterback.

In 2020, Howard started the final seven games of the year due to an injury to starter Skylar Thompson. In 2021, Howard started three games for the same reason.

Howard opened spring ball in 2022 as Kansas State’s No. 1 quarterback, but Nebraska transfer Adrian Martinez eventually won the job in fall camp. Howard played in seven games that year, starting five times due to Martinez injuries. That included a start in Kansas State’s Big XII Championship Game win over TCU and Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama.

Howard has thrown for 5,786 yards in his 4-year career with 48 touchdowns and 25 interception. He has completed 58.8% of his passes in his career. He has also rushed for 921 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards per attempt (including sacks).

For the Buckeyes, Howard will again find himself in the middle of a quarterback competition. Ohio State will open spring ball in early March with Howard, redshirt sophomore Devin Brown, redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz, and true freshman Air Noland.

Buckeye Huddle will have much more on this transfer in the following days, weeks, and months.