Will Howard amped for challenge of The Game

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COVER PHOTO: Will Howard high fives members of the crowd as he heads into the locker following Ohio State's 38-15 win over undefeated, No. 5 Indiana on Nov. 23, 2024. Howard went 22-of-26 for 201 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and continued an OSU single-season best streak of having six games with a completion percentage of 80 percent or better. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.

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Ohio State quarterback Will Howard may be a newbie when it comes to the Ohio State - Michigan rivalry. The fifth-year senior played his previous four years for Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan.

However, he’s not oblivious to what The Game means.

“This is definitely the biggest rivalry game I’ve ever been in,” he said this week. “From the moment I got here, it was different. You don’t wear blue in the building, you don’t say the “M” word, all this stuff. And I was like, ‘okay, this is different.’ It’s not really a rivalry, it’s a way of life.”

Growing up one state over to the east, the Downington, Penn. native said he remembers watching plenty of OSU - UM battles.

“I was a Big Ten fan growing up (and) I always wanted to go to a Team Up North - Ohio State game, I thought it would be cool. And here I am playing in it. It’s pretty cool, it’s quite an opportunity I have (and) I’m blessed to be here. I don’t take it lightly, man, I’m excited.”

Howard said when he decided to come to Columbus for his final collegiate season, he didn’t want to do it simply to do it.

“When I said I was coming here, I (did not) want to be half-in on this thing. If I wanna be a Buckeye, this is a big part of being a Buckeye and this game means everything.”

Head coach Ryan Day said one of the things he stresses to both high school recruits and transfers alike is that when they decide to play for Ohio State, there is one thing they MUST commit to.

“In the recruiting process, you make sure that’s the number one goal … to win this game and that needs to be embraced,” he said this week.

Despite being in Columbus for less than a year, it almost seems as if Howard is taking this year’s game and the past three seasons of Ohio State losing to That Team Up North as much to heart as those who have personally been in it.

“I want to get this done for those guys who decided to come back and who believed in me to lead this football team because I’m forever indebted to those guys,” he said.

“I’m a passionate guy and I’m emotional because I love those guys. I love this university as much as the next guy but I love my brothers, man. I love Coach Day and I would do anything for those guys and I want to get this done so bad for them and for Buckeye Nation.”

Day said during his pregame presser that there’s a mantra they go by when it comes to playing in The Game and that is: You don’t know until you know. He stresses it to fresh-faced freshman and veteran newbies alike.

Teammate Emeka Egbuka said that even though Howard falls into that category, he feels like Howard will quickly acclimate.

“I think Will understands that and he’s the closest to knowing what this means without actually playing in this game so he has the entire right mindset going into it and he’s a leader that has what it takes to go into this game and win.”

Howard indeed has had what it takes all season long. His 2,685 passing yards and 244 yards per game that rank third and fourth in the Big Ten, respectively, may not be eye-popping but it’s his efficiency is where it’s at.

He leads the country completing 74 percent of his passes and is the only Ohio State QB to have six games with a completion percentage of 80 percent or better. His 180.5 passer rating leads the B1G and ranks second, nationally.

Day said stats are all well and good but at the end of the game, making sure the Scarlet and Gray have more points than the Maize and Blue is what matters most.

“When you start worrying about other things like completions or stats, you can start to go down a bad road. I’ve said this before: we’ve had Heisman Trophy finalists, we’ve had the number one defense in the country or whatever it might be, we’re more focused on winning than anything else. We’re going to need him to play well. He’s got to be a great decision-maker (and) he’s got to go get his first pair of gold pants.”

Even so, he might be able to feast on a Michigan defense that’s somewhat of a shell of its former self from last year, which ranked second in the nation coming into last season’s Game in passing yards allowed (144.8/gm), third in pass efficiency defense (97.6) and ninth in interceptions with 14.

This year, the Wolverines rank 72nd in passing yards allowed (222/gm), 55th in pass efficiency D (127.16) and 61st in interceptions (9).

However, when getting to the quarterback, the Maize and Blue have been fairly proficient with 31 sacks, which is third-best in the conference. Defensive ends Josaiah Stewart and T.J. Guy have been beastly off the edge, combining for 14 sacks and 19 tackles-for-loss. Stewart alone has raked in 13 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks, which rank fourth and second in the Big Ten, respectively.

Defensive tackle Mason Graham, who was a second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection last year and is being looked at as a potential top-10 pick in next year’s NFL draft, is pretty much ahead through 11 games this season with 38 tackles, seven for-loss including 3.5 sacks from where he was at through 13 last season. He finished the year with 35 tackles, 7.5 for-loss and three sacks.

“They know that these are probably the two best (defensive linemen) that they’ve played, especially those interior linemen. And … those two guys on the edge are really good players, too,” said Howard. “You know, this is one of the best defenses if not the best defense we’re going to play.”

Even with OSU losing two starters on the offensive line in left tackle Josh Simmons and most recently, center Seth McLauglin - who had made it as a semi-finalist this year for the Rimington Award, which is given to the nation’s best center - the Buckeyes’ offensive line has been pretty good at keeping opposing defenses off of their quarterback’s back with 13 sacks allowed, which is top 20 in the country..

“Our O-line knows they have a challenge but they’ve had challenges every single week,” said Howard and commented that the detractors have tried their best to doubt them but they’ve risen to the challenge each time.

“I’ve just been so proud of how they’ve responded and they haven’t listened to the outside noise. They’ve stuck together and when those guys are on, when those guys are hot, they’re the life-blood of that team.”

The Game kicks off at noon EST and will air on FOX.