Buckeye Quarterback Will Howard Looking Forward To Ohio State Debut

COLUMBUS — Ohio State starting quarterback Will Howard met with reporters on Tuesday to discuss his role this Saturday against Akron and how he envisions things going. He discussed the responsibility of his new position and how he has embraced it as well. The highlights of everything he had to say can be found below.

+ Is there a point when you felt like people saw you as a leader? “That’s a huge part of it.” His situation is very different than coming in as a true freshman. Everything is sped up. You have six or seven months to get teammates to buy in. He focused on building relationships immediately. That was the first thing. That was what the spring was for. Getting through spring and going into the summer, that’s when he began to settle into the role of a leader and challenger. They now had a relationship where he could speak out.

+ What are you most looking forward to on Saturday? “I’m so excited. I truly can’t overstate that.” “I’m fired up.” He grew up watching the Big Ten. He’s played in a lot of places, with big crowds, but the tradition and atmosphere here is different. They’ve done a walk through but he’s excited to run out of the tunnel with a packed Shoe the first time.

+ He watched the Georgia Tech win over Florida State. You can’t overlook anybody.

+ What a year it’s been for you, right? “It is a little weird.” To be playing college football but not at K-State is going to be weird, but he had mentally prepared himself last year that it was likely going to be his last there. He has a new spark this year.

+ Your reaction when you were told you were starting? “I was very excited. It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. And I don’t take it lightly.” To be named a starter among this group is special. Being the starting QB at Ohio State, “it’s truly a blessing.” There are a lot of expectations and pressure that comes with that, but his goal when he came here was to win the starting job.

+ On being “the run-game coordinator?” It’s his job to get them out of bad plays and make the proper decisions. “I’m the one that’s got the chalk last.” It’s cool. It’s a lot of responsibility. It allows him to stay locked in and always have a plan for every play and situation. They get run plays called that can go three different ways, so it’s up to him to make the right reads and decisions.

+ On the headset technology: when you use it to your advantage, it’s pretty cool. But they’ve had to work through some kinks. There are a lot of really cool things you can use it for. You can break the huddle early and get feedback until 15 seconds.

+ On pushing the ball downfield here when you didn’t necessarily do that at Kansas State? No disrespect because he’s played with a lot of good players, but here it’s different on how the coaches teach it. Guys may not look wide open but to a quarterback at Ohio State, he is wide open. In the NFL, that guys is wide open. Guys here make plays like he’s never seen before. “It’s a blessing.” If it’s one-on-one coverage, “they’re open.”

+ Looking forward to huddling. His first two years they did everything out of a huddle at K-State. When you’re good with the huddle and you get out of it early and get a look, “then it’s good.” But when you get caught in a huddle, you may not have as much time to look at the defense before the snap. It’s nice to be able to look his teammates in the face before they get to the line of scrimmage.

+ How has your approach changed from fighting for the job to having the job? When you have the job, you have the ability to speak out a little bit more. When you’re competing for a job, you’re not eager to give feedback on something you don’t like. When you’re the starter, you have more ownership in the play calls and the reads.

+ Have you had an “I’m not in Kansas anymore” moment? “I knew.” He grew up a Penn State fan, but “I came to the bright side” now as a Buckeye. The spring game caught him by surprise. They didn’t even have a spring game at Kansas State. “We had a practice 15, we didn’t have a spring game.” Manhattan was a small college town and was cool because everybody was bought in. You have that here in Columbus in a big city. “Man, it’s cool. It’s unlike anything else, really.”

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