Quarterback Will Howard on joining Ohio State: 'I feel like a different player'

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- After months of anticipation and preparation, Will Howard will be in the driver's seat of Ohio State's offense when the Buckeyes open the season Saturday against Akron.

And the Downington, Pennsylvania, native is ready.

"I've mentally prepared myself for this for a while and I knew that whatever I was going to be doing was going to be a new step," Howard said. "I feel like a different player than I did even last year. I'm just excited because it's a new opportunity. It's a new challenge. It's lit a new spark in me."

The Kansas State graduate transfer earned the starting nod midway through fall camp, with teammate Devin Brown slotted as Howard's backup on the depth chart. Howard led the Wildcats to the Big 12 championship in 2022 and threw 48 touchdown passes, setting a school career record. Half of those touchdowns came last year, tying Kansas State's season record.

But Howard knew that all those accolades didn't matter if he didn't have the respect of his Ohio State teammates going into his lone season as a Buckeye.

"My situation is very different than coming in as a true freshman. You have to come in and gain the respect and the trust of a whole football team in the span of six or seven months," he said. "For me, the first thing that was the most important was just getting relationships with everyone. I want to get to know everyone on the team, because they're not going to respect me if they don't know me."

Howard said he built those relationships as soon as he arrived, working on gaining his teammates' trust through winter workouts and spring practice. Once camp started in the summer, he said he felt comfortable being a leader on the offense.

"We started summer workouts, that's when I started to settle into that role and feel a little more comfortable challenging guys just because we already had that relationship," Howard said.

The Buckeyes enter the season under tremendous expectations. Ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll, OSU has sights set on beating Michigan and winning a national championship in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff.

But for this first week, coach Ryan Day isn't expecting anything extraordinary from Howard against Akron.

"He's got to be an expert. He's got to be the best in the country at that," Day said. "We want positive runs and get completions. And that's the focus early on as we get going."

Howard said he's not overlooking the Buckeyes' first opponent in the Zips, who have only won four games the past two seasons. But Saturday offers an opportunity to showcase his talent for his team and the fans.

"We've already experienced a lot of tough stuff in our controlled environment but I'm excited to get out there on the field and show these guys how I can really play in a real setting because they haven't gotten to see me play in a game yet," Howard said. "So I'm excited for that."