Steelers ‘Excited’ To Add Will Howard To Quarterback Room

Will Howard is accustomed to being passed over. It happened to him in high school when the Pennsylvania-native wasn’t offered by Penn State. It happened in college when Howard was a redshirt sophomore at Kansas State and in line to be the starting quarterback. Wildcats’ head coach Chris Kleiman went into the transfer portal looking for a different starting quarterback instead.

The latest example of this came Saturday night as Will Howard saw seven other quarterbacks drafted ahead of him before he was selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

For Howard, it was a long way back home. For the Steelers, it was an opportunity to draft somebody that would add to an already stable organization.

“We’re really excited to add Will to our quarterback room,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said on Saturday. “Really impressive resume. I’ve gotten to know Will during this process, obviously he’s played in a lot of big games, and when I got a chance to meet with him and spend some time with him at his pro day, just came away even more impressed with the person that Will Howard is.”

Howard came close to entering the 2024 draft but instead decided to sign with Ohio State, which he believed would also help prepare him for a future in the NFL.

One of the ways in which that preparation happened was through the Buckeyes’ playoff run last year. When the games were do-or-die, Howard was at his best, and that wasn’t lost on the Steelers.

“Well, I think it’s important. Any player, when you’re looking at them, you want to see that, because it’s the same thing in our league,” Smith explained. “Guys start hot, and you may go into a lull. You always want to see how people respond to adversity. Certainly in the stage, in college football, he played on the biggest stage. You lose a game like that against Michigan…but the way you see those guys respond, and certainly Will in that kind of leadership role, he played his best football at the end of the year. You see him in the big moments, those critical possession downs, even in the national championship game, momentum plays to kind of end the game.”

Will Howard started games in each of his five years in college, but he wasn’t a full-time starter until his final two years. He always prepared like a starter, which helped him when he was called upon off the bench throughout his early career at Kansas State.

The Steelers aren’t necessarily looking for a starter this year, though they have no proven quarterback to turn to at the moment. Rather, Pittsburgh is looking for somebody who has been through adversity and understands what it takes to come out the other side.

In Will Howard, they believe they’ve found somebody who is capable of setting goals and then working to achieve them. Because they’ve seen him do it throughout his football life.

“I just look back at his resume, the way he’s wired. You get through this and there’s so much attention on the draft. Obviously, it’s such a premium position. These guys get picked apart. More than anybody in pro sports,” Smith said.

“But really looking at Will, his maturity level, what he accomplished this year, going from Kansas State and then stepping into that role at Ohio State and winning the national championship. Those are things you see him do on the actual tape. He takes out some of the guesswork about his mental toughness. And then, obviously, the transition he’s going to have in the NFL, we’ve got to make sure we have the right setup for him and give him every opportunity to succeed with all the quarterbacks in that room.”

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