Ohio State QB Will Howard gets another shot against old foe Texas, this time in the CFP semifinals

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Second chances don’t come easy. One win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals would more than make up for years of frustration for Ohio State quarterback Will Howard.

Howard lost all three starts against Texas when he was at Kansas State and the Longhorns were in the Big 12. He was sidelined for the fourth loss.

“For me personally,” Howard said, “there’s definitely a little bit of extra motivation because I’ve never had a chance to beat these guys.”

Howard now leads the hottest offense in the state of Ohio, and a win would send the Buckeyes to the national championship game in Atlanta against either Notre Dame or Penn State on Jan. 20.

“Not to discount his receivers at Kansas State, but he has a better group of receivers here, better people to work with to get the ball,” said Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron, who played against Howard three times. “That’s a strong kid. He is a fighter. He’ll run the ball if he has to and things like that. So it will be a big challenge for us.”

Howard started in place of an injured Skylar Thompson in K-State’s 69-31 loss in 2020 and in a 22-17 loss in 2021. Howard didn’t see anything in the Wildcats’ 34-27 loss to Texas in 2022; starter Adrian Martinez played the entire game.

Howard nearly got the job done in 2023, throwing for a career-high 327 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-30 overtime loss.

“I don’t like how it ended,” he said, “and I’m excited to get another chance.”

Howard will also be playing in a familiar venue. The last time he was at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he quarterbacked K-State in a 31-28 overtime win over undefeated TCU in the 2022 Big 12 championship game.

After the Wildcats finished with nine wins in 2023, Howard decided it was time for a change. He thought about entering the NFL draft, but ended up going to the transfer portal. Miami and Southern California were among the schools that approached him in addition to Ohio State.

“I felt like I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to come here and be a Buckeye and get a chance to win a national championship, because that’s what I came here for and that’s why we’re here,” Howard said.

Howard came out of high school in Downingtown, Pennsylvania as a three-star recruit. Even though he started 27 of his 34 games at Kansas State and is now the starter for the college bluebloods, he still has a desire to prove himself.

“I like to take on that underdog maneuver a little bit, that chip on my shoulder,” he said.

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Howard is deceptively athletic, noting that Howard ripped off a 71-yard run against the Longhorns in 2021. He said K-State’s offensive system, which requires a quarterback to be multidimensional, has prepared Howard well for his one season under Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

“He has an intention. He has athletic ability,” Sarkisian said. “And then his ability to throw a catchable ball. I’ve been seeing it for several years. He puts the passes in where they need to be put in and guys make plays for him. And his poise and composure at critical moments was something that was also very impressive.”

Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said it’s not easy for a quarterback in his first year at a new school and in a new offensive system to inspire his teammates to follow him.

“For Will, the more he plays at Ohio State in this offense with his teammates, the more comfortable he is with everything,” Day said. “And you can say, ‘Well, he’s played a lot of college football before,’ and he has. And you see some of those things come out on the field.

“But like anything, you see guys go from NFL team to NFL team, and sometimes it takes a while to get into the offense and figure it out. It’s like a language. When you can understand that, like second nature, then you can play your best football.”

Howard led the Buckeyes to five wins over teams ranked in The Associated Press’ top 10, threw for a career-high 3,490 yards and 32 touchdowns, and is the only Ohio State quarterback to complete 80% of his passes through seven games.

“A guy from Kansas State, a first-year transfer, you wouldn’t expect that guy to be the leader that he is,” Buckeyes wide receiver Brandon Inniss said. “He’s an incredible leader and we all look up to him. He leads the whole team, he knows it. We will go as long as he goes.”