After spending 4 years at Kansas State, Will Howard opens up about his decision to transfer to Ohio State and what his goals are for the 2024 season.
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00:00 >> First impression Jeroboam Smith.
00:02 >> Dude, he's a dude, man.
00:04 I haven't gotten to talk to him that much yet,
00:06 just because we've been in different groups lifting and stuff.
00:10 But man, he's a specimen.
00:12 I mean, that dude is a freak show when it comes to physical.
00:16 I mean, I'm excited to see him out on the field in live action.
00:20 It'll be fun.
00:21 >> You got your NFL feedback, about 36 now.
00:25 What did they say that maybe you wanted, they wanted to see more?
00:28 >> I feel like the resounding thing that I heard from these NFL guys and
00:34 from people around the league was, you need to play more.
00:38 And we need to see more high level play.
00:41 And I feel like, I played a lot of football in my time at K State, but
00:46 I only had one year where I was really the true starter.
00:51 And where I played the whole year, for the most part, I was a backup filling in.
00:57 And I felt like there's a bunch of statistics and things that they look at.
01:03 I was on the very lowest end of the amount of yards that you're supposed to throw for.
01:09 You look at the success stories versus the failure stories.
01:14 And there was just so many signs that were pointing to coming back.
01:17 And really in my heart, and that was at the end of the day, I mean,
01:21 it was up to me, it was my gut.
01:22 And I felt like I just wasn't ready to leave college yet.
01:25 I still had more I wanted to accomplish.
01:27 >> Is the reason you kind of picked Ohio State,
01:30 is it the type of offense that can put you in the right spot,
01:33 get you good film for the NFL?
01:36 >> Absolutely, and I mean, the biggest thing was,
01:38 I felt like I could come compete here to win the national championship.
01:41 And that, above anything else, was one of the most important things.
01:45 I felt like I just had more I wanted to accomplish in college, and
01:49 I wasn't done yet.
01:50 And that was, I think, what really drew me here.
01:53 Obviously, getting to the next level and playing in an offense like this,
01:58 I think is really gonna prepare me for that next level and give me the best shot.
02:01 And that's all just really sugar on the cake for me.
02:06 >> Will, you are in a room with five quarterbacks.
02:10 First of all, what is this like, having that many people in the room?
02:13 And what you were talking with today and the rest of the staff about how this might
02:17 look in the spring in terms of rep distribution?
02:19 Did you guys have conversations about that stuff?
02:21 >> Yeah, I mean, we definitely talked about it.
02:24 We're all here to compete, and we're all here to help the Buckeyes win.
02:28 That's all we're here for.
02:30 And that was made evident when I came on my visit.
02:34 And the thing that I'm the most fired up about is how good the dudes in
02:40 the room are and how good they've been to me.
02:43 They could have, believe me,
02:45 I've been in a situation where we brought in an older transfer kid.
02:49 And they could have been mad and not talk to me and not help me out.
02:54 But I mean, Devin and Lincoln and the guys that have been around,
02:57 they've really helped us a lot, especially us three new guys.
03:01 And I know I'm older and I've done things, but still just learning a new system,
03:07 learning how we do things in the weight room,
03:09 how we go about our business in the locker room.
03:11 It's just everything's a little different.
03:13 So I'm so thankful for those guys that they've just, I mean,
03:16 they've helped me so much just getting accustomed to being in this building,
03:22 really.
03:23 >> What's your first impressions of Aaron and Julian?
03:25 >> Really good dudes, really good kids, and really talented too.
03:29 I mean, they can both spin the ball really well.
03:31 They're young and they know they got a lot to learn and so do I.
03:38 I'm right there with them.
03:39 I think we're all trying to learn this together, even Coach O'Brien a little bit.
03:44 And we're hitting the ground running, but it's exciting.
03:47 Those two guys are special, special young kids.
03:50 >> Well, I just wanna make sure I have it right.
03:52 If you didn't commit here, was your second choice really to go to the draft or
03:55 would you have looked at another school?
03:58 >> It's hard to say.
03:58 I would probably say the draft would have been my,
04:04 I was talking to some other schools, Miami and USC were in there in the mix.
04:12 But it was really, I would say here in the draft at the end of it,
04:15 there was a lot of different things that went into it and
04:19 it was a long, hard process.
04:22 But yeah, I would say, I mean, that was probably most likely.
04:26 >> When you first talked to him about waiting for
04:28 after the conference, what Ohio State was gonna do,
04:31 you've been in touch with them before.
04:32 How did the conversations evolve after that?
04:34 >> I mean, nothing crazy.
04:38 It was just- >> He's a spider.
04:41 >> Shoot.
04:42 >> Appreciate that.
04:44 >> [LAUGH] >> I'm not a spider fan.
04:46 >> [LAUGH] >> Who is?
04:48 >> Get rid of it, yeah.
04:48 >> True.
04:49 >> Stomp it out, yeah.
04:50 Man, appreciate it.
04:52 Yeah, there you go, a little sidetrack.
04:55 But no, what was the question again?
04:57 I'm sorry.
04:58 >> I just had a spider.
04:58 >> [LAUGH] >> Spider controversy, what's up?
05:00 >> Yeah, just an update for the spiders.
05:03 >> Yeah.
05:04 >> Just how the conversations evolved, I said after.
05:07 >> Yeah, no, it was, I mean, it wasn't really anything crazy, I would say.
05:12 I just, nothing really changed.
05:15 It was really kind of, they were kind of holding me off a little bit,
05:19 just till after that game, just in fairness.
05:21 And I was patient and waited my time and it all worked out in due time, so.
05:29 >> Did Coach Day let you know he was gonna make, but what did you circle?
05:32 >> It's hard to tell.
05:35 I don't really know.
05:37 It was a whirlwind of a process.
05:40 I started hearing initially they might be interested, but
05:44 I hadn't really heard anything directly.
05:45 And then, really getting in,
05:50 I really started to feel that interest after the game.
05:54 >> Did Coach Day let you know there was a change coming,
05:57 head coordinator in the quarterback room?
06:00 >> A little bit, yeah, I kind of figured that.
06:02 I didn't know for sure, but he kind of hinted at it.
06:05 And his point was it's in the best interest of him and the team.
06:11 I was all in.
06:12 I completely understood the decision and why he did it.
06:17 >> In your conversations with Coach Day, what was it that he said stood out about
06:20 your game and what you could bring, and
06:22 what were some of the areas he felt you could grow in?
06:26 >> Yeah, I mean, there were a lot of things that were said.
06:28 A lot of things that were attractive to me about this offense and
06:34 about what he kind of thought about my game and how he thought he could
06:36 elevate me to where I wanted to be.
06:41 And I feel like one of the biggest things was how pro-style the offense is.
06:48 And a lot of these other schools that I was looking at,
06:50 maybe these air raid type schools, they got great offenses.
06:56 And I could put up a lot of numbers, but
06:57 I don't know how much that would develop me for the NFL.
07:01 And playing in a system that Coach O'Brien was just,
07:04 I mean, he was just with the Patriots.
07:05 I mean, how much better can you prepare for the NFL than with somebody who's
07:10 coached at a head coach level and a coordinator level in the NFL?
07:15 There's just all the things pointed to Ohio State.
07:18 >> Your journey at Kansas State was far from straightforward.
07:22 I mean, both your freshman and your junior years,
07:25 you're a backup at the start of the tournament, the start of games.
07:29 I kinda wanted to look back at the situation in 2022 with Adrian and you.
07:35 Obviously, he gets hurt multiple times during the season, you come in for him.
07:39 Just how did you stay ready and prepared?
07:41 Cuz you end up getting carried off the field against Oklahoma State,
07:44 all this stuff.
07:45 How'd you stay ready and prepared in those moments?
07:47 And how do you think maybe going through some of that adversity,
07:50 being a backup and being thrust into that starting position again,
07:54 prepare you to take on the challenge of coming to a game program?
07:57 >> Yeah, that's a really good question.
07:59 I think the biggest thing that I learned in my four years at K-State was
08:05 humility and how there's always gonna be hard times.
08:12 And I think it was kind of a blessing as hard as it was going through some of
08:17 those things that I went through.
08:18 Playing as a true freshman, really my freshman and
08:22 sophomore year kinda skewed my stats.
08:25 So it makes it look like I throw a lot of picks and all that stuff.
08:29 But at the end of the day, it's like I learned so
08:32 much from those times and from my struggles early on.
08:36 And it makes it so much more sweet now that I've kinda made it through that bump.
08:42 But I feel like last year kinda taught me that you're never really through that.
08:46 And there's always gonna be tough days and hard times.
08:49 And I've just matured and learned so much from those experiences.
08:55 And I feel like it's made me a lot tougher.
08:57 I'm really hard to break now.
08:59 And you can say what you want about me, but I'm still me.
09:04 And at the end of the day, I trust God and God's got me no matter what.
09:11 And I'm just so grateful to be here,
09:17 just in this building, it's a blessing.
09:19 It really is.
09:20 I gotta pinch myself every day that I get to come to work here.