Howard gets one more shot at old nemesis

COLUMBUS — Second chances are not easy to come by. One victory 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 of his starts against Texas when he was at Kansas State and the Longhorns were in the Big 12. He was on the sidelines for a fourth defeat. "Personally for me," Howard said, "there's definitely a little extra motivation there because I never got the chance to beat these guys." Howard now leads the country's hottest offense in Ohio State, and a win Friday would send the Buckeyes to the national championship game in Atlanta against Notre Dame or Penn State on Jan. 20. "Not downgrading his receivers at Kansas State, but he has a better group of receivers here, better people he can work with to get the ball to," said Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron, who played against Howard three times. "That's a strong kid. He's a fighter. He'll run the ball if he has to and things like that. So it's going to be a great challenge for us." Howard started in place of the injured Skylar Thompson in K-State's 69-31 loss in 2020 and in a 22-17 loss in 2021. Howard saw no action 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 that one ended," he said, "and I'm excited to get another chance." Howard also will be playing in a familiar venue. The last time he was at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, he quarterbacked K-State to a 31-28 overtime win over unbeaten 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 considered entering the NFL draft, but ultimately went into the transfer portal. Miami and Southern California were among the schools that reached out to him in addition to Ohio State. "I just felt like I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come here and be a Buckeye and get a chance at winning a national championship, because this is why I came here and this is 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 now is the starter for a college football blueblood, he still has a desire to prove himself. "I like to take on that underdog mentality a little bit, that chip on my shoulder," he said. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Howard is deceivingly athletic, noting that Howard ripped off a 71-yard touchdown run against the Longhorns in 2021. He said K-State's offensive system, which requires the quarterback to be multi-dimensional, prepared Howard well for his one season under Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly. "He's got intention. He's got athletic ability," Sarkisian said. "And then his ability to throw a catchable ball. I've seen that now for a few years. He throws passes where they need to be thrown, and guys make plays for him. And his poise and composure in critical moments is something that has been very impressive as well." 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 teammates to follow him. "For Will, the more he plays at Ohio State in this offense with his teammates, he's getting more and more comfortable with everything," Day said. "And you can say, 'Well, he's played a lot of college football before,' and he has. And you're seeing some of those things show up on the field. "But just like anything else, you see guys who move from NFL team to NFL team, and sometimes it takes a while to get into the offense and understand it. It's like a language. When you can understand it, like second nature, that's when you can play your best football." Howard has led the Buckeyes to five wins over teams ranked in The Associated Press top 10, thrown for a career-high 3,490 yards and 32 touchdowns, and is the only Ohio State quarterback to complete 80% of his passes in seven games. "A guy from Kansas State, a transfer in year one, you wouldn't expect that guy to be a leader like how he is," Buckeyes receiver Brandon Inniss said. "He's an unbelievable leader, and we all lean on him. He runs this whole team, he knows that. We'll go as far as he goes."