Freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith stole the show in Ohio State’s 52-6 win against Akron on Saturday, but it wasn’t the Buckeyes’ only highly anticipated debut. All eyes were also on Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard, a 28-game starter for the Wildcats making his first start in Columbus.
Howard looked comfortable in his new offense and seems to be an upgrade at the position in some areas from a year ago with Kyle McCord. Yes, Howard was playing against Akron, one of the worst teams in the MAC, but there are still some things we could learn about Howard’s adjustment to playing in the Buckeyes’ offense under Ryan Day and Chip Kelly.
Throwing on the run
One thing that can’t be simulated in practice is pressure and throwing on the run because there’s no fear of being hit. Howard has always been mobile, and his accuracy on the run against the Zips was impressive.
This throw to Emeka Egbuka was my favorite of the day:
Howard does a nice job of getting out of the pocket after the designed play-action, and in the face of an oncoming defender, he finds Egbuka. The impressive part of this play is the touch he puts on the ball with a defender in his face, one on Egbuka’s back and another one underneath the route. This was the second drive of the game and it was Howard’s best.
This throw to Smith on third down was another good one, showing off the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Howard’s legs and strength:
Howard showed good awareness of where pressure was coming from and either finding his hot read or avoiding the sack. He doesn’t go down easily, as you see here, and he also keeps his eyes downfield instead of trying to scramble for the first-down marker, which I don’t think he would’ve reached. Smith works back to Howard on the play, and the quarterback puts the ball in a perfect spot along the sideline.
If Howard can keep up his consistency on the run, it’ll open up more options in the offense, especially in the play-action game, which Howard seems right at home in already.
Red zone accuracy
Ohio State’s red zone efficiency left something to be desired last season. The Buckeyes finished 58th in scoring percentage, converting on 86 percent of their 50 red zone chances, and 47th in touchdown rate at 64 percent.
Howard looked accurate in the red zone on Saturday. This pass to Smith, resulting in his first touchdown, was a perfectly placed back-shoulder throw:
These two worked on this often in preseason camp. It works perfectly to Smith’s strengths because his catch radius and ability to high-point the ball are elite.
Howard gets rid of the ball early and puts it in a place where the defender, with his back turned, couldn’t make a play. We’ll see a lot more of this throughout the season.
Howard’s second touchdown to Smith was even better:
This was a simple slant from Smith. Everybody praises Smith for his body and physicality, and this looks like a slot receiver at 215 pounds. He does a nice job of getting off the line, boxing out the defensive back and then using his physical tools to win on the contested catch.
For Howard, it’s a strong throw and a perfect pass. I spoke to Howard’s local trainer, Vernard Abrams, in the summer and he mentioned that Howard’s arm strength is more than just deep balls, it’s ball speed. This is an example of that. Howard fits this pass into a tight window and is accurate with it, as well. If this can happen consistently, Ohio State’s red zone game will only grow, adding his legs, the run game and tight end Jelani Thurman.
A mobility upgrade
The biggest difference in Ohio State’s offense this season is Howard’s mobility.
McCord had a strong arm, but he couldn’t move out of the pocket the way Howard does. Howard’s legs will stress defenses in a variety of ways.
There was the 8-yard designed run in the first quarter, a quarterback sneak that we haven’t seen from one of Day’s teams in years and then this scramble when everything was covered downfield:
I like that Howard doesn’t bail on plays early and use his legs as a crutch instead of trusting his arm, but there are times when a quarterback just has to take the yards like he did here. You can see his speed at work, too. Howard even catches the first defender off guard and makes him miss. He then takes a hit and bounces right up.
In an ideal world, you’d like to see Howard get at least two or three of these a game to force defenses to put a spy on him, taking one more person out of coverage.
The deep ball
Howard threw three passes more than 20 yards downfield, with one completion, one incompletion and one pass interference penalty drawn.
This completion to Smith was the highlight catch of the day, as the freshman made a one-handed catch through the defender:
I do think this could’ve been a better pass — and a touchdown — if Howard got more on this ball, letting Smith just run under it into the end zone. Still, I think there are times when a quarterback needs to just get the ball out there and let his receiver make a play. Everybody at Ohio State knows if you give Smith a chance in one-on-one coverage, he’ll likely come down with the ball.
“If he’s pressed and it’s one-on-one, put it up and he’ll make the play,” Howard said after the game. “That’s all I have to do is give him a chance and he’ll do the rest.”
Poor end-of-half management
Howard made one really bad decision on an otherwise stellar day.
Just before halftime he scrambled to avoid a well-timed blitz from the Zips. When trying to make a play, he threw the ball backward to TreVeyon Henderson and nearly gifted Akron points before halftime.
Howard was pressured just three times on Saturday for a 12.5 percent pressure rate, according to TruMedia. Last year, only Minnesota generated less pressure against the Buckeyes. We’ve yet to see how Howard will react to more consistent pressure in his face, but you’d expect an experienced quarterback not to make this mistake.
What else I saw on film
• Jack Sawyer was absolutely dominant against the Zips. The senior defensive end didn’t record a sack, even though the Buckeyes had five, but he led the team with four pressures, per TruMedia, including this one off an impressive spin move:
Ohio State’s defensive line as a whole was great, despite Akron trying to get the ball out quickly. The Buckeyes generated pressure on 34.3 percent of the Zips’ dropbacks.
• Linebacker Arvell Reese made the most of his extra snaps with Cody Simon out. C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles started and played well, but Reese had arguably the biggest rise in preseason camp, so it was good to see it translate to the game. He played 32 snaps, the same as Hicks, and tallied four tackles and one tackle for loss. You could see his athleticism stand out. He earned more snaps this season and solidified himself as Simon’s backup going forward.
• The offensive line left a lot to be desired with preseason All-American left guard Donovan Jackson out of the game. Austin Siereveld started in his place and was inconsistent, although he got better as the game went on. I thought the line looked good in pass protection for the most part, but the inability to push Akron off the ball in the run game early is concerning.
Day said he planned to rotate on the line but never got around to doing that. Siereveld led the team with 64 snaps, while Josh Simmons, Josh Fryar and Seth McLaughlin each played 60 snaps. Tegra Tshabola, the starting right guard, played 54. Carson Hinzman was the sixth offensive lineman and played just 10 snaps. Jackson should be back next week against Western Michigan, and with his return the Buckeyes hope to get more push up front. They’ll need it because Saturday wasn’t a good showing.
• Brandon Inniss is a game-changer for the Buckeyes. He had 60 punt return yards and nearly broke one or two for a touchdown. The last time Ohio State returned a kick for a touchdown was 2014 when Jalin Marshall took a punt 54 yards against Indiana. That drought could end this year because Inniss is an explosive and shifty athlete. It’s only been one game, but the special teams unit looks improved and much more dangerous than it did a year ago under Parker Fleming.
• I like what I saw from defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ play calling against Akron. He didn’t give everything away, but Knowles sprinkled in some creative blitzes, showing that he is working to strike the balance between aggressiveness and also trusting a traditional four-man rush.
The sack safety Caleb Downs got came off a mug look on the line, showing blitz with the linebackers just for them to drop out in coverage with Downs sitting at the line almost in a contain responsibility. When Reese and Styles dropped into coverage, the quarterback began to scramble and Downs was there for the sack. Another time, Knowles sent an overload blitz on the right side and pulled defensive end JT Tuimoloau into coverage off the left side, nearly resulting in an interception.
That creativity with different looks should increase as the season moves on to tougher opponents down the line.
(Photo of Will Howard: Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
