Ohio State’s eight-month quarterback battle is officially over. On Thursday, coach Ryan Day announced that Kansas State transfer Will Howard will start when the Buckeyes open the season against Akron on Aug. 31. Howard beat out Devin Brown, who has now lost two consecutive quarterback battles.
Unlike last season, when Day named Kyle McCord the starter for the opener but didn’t give him the permanent nod until Sept. 12, Howard is regarded as the full-time starter. Barring any injury, Howard and Brown will not share snaps.
“We’re excited about Will being the starter. He’s taken command of the offense,” Day said. “You feel him in the huddle and he’s done a good job with his body this offseason, so he’s a threat with his legs and his arm.”
Howard takes over the job with plenty of experience, having started 28 games over four seasons at Kansas State. He has 5,786 career passing yards with 48 touchdowns and 25 interceptions, plus 921 rushing yards. The Buckeyes brought him in after McCord transferred to Syracuse and the team lost the Cotton Bowl to Missouri.
The right decision at the right time
Quarterback battles are usually the biggest storyline in preseason camp, and that’s especially true when it involves a team like the second-ranked Buckeyes. Entering camp, the question was whether Day would let this go into the start of the season, like he did last year, or end it earlier and give the starter time to get comfortable.
At the time it didn’t seem like a bad idea to give both Howard and Brown the first two weeks of the season to fight, before the Week 3 idle week. The Buckeyes have an easy nonconference schedule with Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall visiting Columbus. As camp continued, though, it became obvious that Howard was going to be the choice.
He looked more comfortable after a full offseason in the offense, and though Brown had some flashy moments in practice, Howard has been the most consistent. He is the fastest of the five quarterbacks despite being 235 pounds and has the pocket presence Day and new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly are looking for in a quarterback.
Howard was performing so well that there could’ve been an argument for Day to end the battle a week ago, but he decided to give it more time, allowing Howard and Brown a chance to show what they could do in their Saturday scrimmage.
Howard won out and now gets two weeks to prepare for the Zips and a season with national championship expectations.
What does this mean for the future at quarterback?
Howard is a rental, not a long-term solution for the program. As a graduate transfer, he has one year of eligibility before heading to the NFL next year.
With Brown losing the competition for a second consecutive year, the focus turns to his future. Does this mean Brown will transfer next offseason or fight for the job again? That’s uncertain, but there are also three other quarterbacks in the room, with Lincoln Kienholz and blue-chip freshmen Air Noland and Julian Sayin.
Though there’s inexperience at the position going forward, the unit is in a much better shape now than it was a year ago. It’s unlikely that Ohio State keeps all four next season, but practice made it obvious that Sayin, a five-star recruit who originally signed with Alabama, has star potential. I’d consider him to be the early favorite to start in 2025. Five-star Class of 2025 recruit Tavien St. Clair is also slated to arrive next yet and should immediately compete for at least a backup role.
Ohio State has put itself in a good position going forward with its quarterbacks. But for now, the hope is that Howard brings the experience and talent to put a loaded Buckeyes roster in position to win big in 2024.
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(Photo: Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today Network)
