Ohio State football brought in Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard to lift them back to the sport's summit. They will probably not know if their instincts were right for a couple more months, but the 23-year-old is giving fans some cause to be concerned despite a 7-1 start to the season.
Howard threw a pick-six and fumbled on a should-be rushing touchdown in the first half of Saturday's road game against Penn State.
He made enough plays to secure the 20-13 victory for the Buckeyes, throwing for two touchdowns and running for the first down that thrust the dagger into the Nittany Lions. Neither Howard nor head coach Ryan Day are just glossing over the mistakes, though.
A ninth national championship for Ohio State is difficult to envision if the quarterback play is inconsistent. Even a stingy defense and punishing rushing attack, which bailed out Howard in Beaver Stadium, might not be enough to survive ill-timed turnovers in the College Football Playoff.
“Well, it can’t happen,” Day told reporters on Tuesday, via Yardbarker's Andrew Kulha. “We’ve got to take care of the football… It turned into a four-quarter game because of that, you know. We take care of the ball better, and it doesn’t have to be that way. So he knows that.”
Can Will Howard validate Ryan Day's faith?
Howard presumably felt some nerves playing in front of a record-breaking crowd on the field that he wanted to call his home during his childhood (Downingtown, Pennsylvania native). So perhaps earning that Week 10 win will be therapeutic for the young signal-caller.
He is completing a superb 73.2 percent of his passes while throwing for 1,977 yards and 19 touchdowns (five interceptions). Additionally, Howard has five rushing scores.
This player has the versatility and offensive weapons to succeed with Ohio State football this season. He just needs to heighten his awareness in big moments. Ryan Day trusted Will Howard in January and will continue to express belief in him for the final stretch of the campaign.
No. 18 has favorable matchups versus Purdue and Northwestern over the next two weeks to weed out the blunders before the pressure starts to rise again.
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