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By the end of the 2023 season, one thing was obvious in the Kansas State locker room: Will Howard was not the future at quarterback.
Avery Johnson had just relieved Howard in the second half of an October 2023 game against Texas Tech where the five-star freshman had incredibly rushed for five touchdowns.
In that moment, Howard — the three-star prospect who came from Downington, Pennsylvania, to make his mark in central Kansas — had been supplanted. Not right away, but it was unfortunate and uncomfortable as the season wound down. The perception was that Howard was losing his job.
“I feel like the whole locker room knew what was going on with Will at that time,” said Kobe Savage, former K-State teammate and now an Oregon cornerback.
Howard has remaining ties to Kansas State. His brother, Ryan Howard, is an offensive lineman for the Wildcats. He has a close friend, tight end Will Swanson, who remains on the team.
Mostly, Howard left behind no hard feelings. That goes for his former coach, who may not like the current climate but gets it.
“It was the right time for him to take the leap of faith,” K-State coach Chris Klieman of Howard’s departure. “To the NFL or see what was out there. I know it took a while, but he found the right fit with Chip [Kelly] and Ryan [Day] for sure.”
For the first time since at least 1998, the beginning of the BCS era, two transfer quarterbacks are meeting in the national championship game. Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard came from Duke last offseason.
In both cases, it was hard for each to extricate themselves from their former school. In both cases, they have become stars at national programs.
“You’ve just got to go through it to understand what it’s like to play quarterback at a blue blood…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/will-howards-one-and-done-season-at-ohio-state-serving-as-perfect-culmination-to-underdog-journey/
Author : Dennis Dodd
Publish date : 2025-01-16 18:23:00
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