Matt Tamanini from SB Nation
Will Howard certainly isn’t going to throw the deep ball like Dwayne Haskins, display the athleticism of Justin Fields, or execute with the precision of C.J. Stroud, but he showed on Saturday that there was more hitch in his giddy-up than I gave him credit for.
The new Buckeye QB finished the day 17-of-28 for 228 yards and three touchdowns, which aren’t eye-popping numbers, but what impressed me the most was his ability to make the right decisions in the moment. He obviously had that regrettable moment at the end of the second quarter that almost resulted in a backward lateral turnover, and I think that early in the game he threw a few balls as scripted without really assessing where defenders were. However, as he settled into the game, Howard seemed to get comfortable in the offense, and with that came a calmness and control.
He still under-threw a few balls — his 45-yarder to Jeremiah Smith was a walk-in touchdown if he had led the freshman receiver by a couple of yards — but he always seemed to find the right receiver, make the right decision, and keep plays alive with his feet. It was not a perfect day for Howard, but he showed me more than enough to get me excited about what he could do this season.
