Will Howard Transferring to Ohio State From Kansas State; Also Considered USC, Miami

Former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard has committed to Ohio State, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Howard appeared in 34 games over four seasons with Kansas State, including an overtime upset of TCU in the 2022 Big 12 championship.

He passed for 5,786 yards and set a program record with 48 passing touchdowns. He also threw for 25 interceptions and added 19 touchdowns on the ground.

Howard will take the place of former Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse in December.

Howard took his first official visit Ohio State this week, according to Thamel. The veteran college quarterback had also previously visited other schools including Miami and USC.

The quarterback also "seriously looked at" submitting his name for the 2024 NFL draft, but believes spending his fifth year of eligibility at Ohio State will improve his draft stock for 2025, according to Thamel.

Howard recorded 24 touchdowns in his last season with Kansas State, including 15 scores in his final six games.

Earlier in the season, he put up one of his best performances of the campaign by throwing for 270 yards and three touchdowns against Missouri, the same team that recently completely stifled the Buckeyes' offense in a 14-3 Cotton Bowl victory.

That might have caught the eyes of Ohio State leadership, who saw McCord go through the 2023-24 season without ever passing for three touchdowns in a single game, despite targeting a receiver group that included standouts Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

Quarterback Devin Brown, who started the Cotton Bowl for Ohio State in McCord's absence, was sidelined by an ankle injury midway through what was considered to be his audition for the first-string position.

A series of injuries have held Brown to just eight appearances over two seasons and make him less than a known quantity than Howard, who Ohio State coach Ryan Day will now hope can lead Buckeyes to their first victory over Michigan in four years.