Can Will Howard start for Ohio State? Exploring Buckeyes' QB room depth chart

Will Howard will be spending his fifth collegiate season with Ryan Day's Ohio State. The 22-year-old quarterback decided to transfer to the Buckeyes after spending the last four seasons with the Kansas State Wildcats. But will he be the QB1 of the team during his debut?

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Can Will Howard start for Ohio State?

Yes, Howard can become the starting quarterback for Ohio State this upcoming season. So far, coach Ryan Day has not finalized the QB1 for the Buckeyes. However, Will Howard has the best chance of becoming the starter for the team in 2024.

Following Kyle McCord's departure to Syracuse this offseason, Howard has the most experience in OSU's quarterback room, which has the likes of Devin Brown, freshman Julian Sayin and others.

After impressing during spring practice, Will Howard is once again emerging as a front-runner in the QB department during fall camp. As per Bucknuts reporter Patrick Murphy, the Kansas State transfer took all first-team reps during last Sunday's practice, except one.

"It's becoming clearer that Howard will be this team's starter," Murphy wrote. "Devin Brown had arguably the most disappointing performance. After a nice throw that was dropped early, Brown missed on some points that he hit."

At the moment, it looks like Howard will be the guaranteed starter for Ohio State this upcoming season. However, five-star freshman Julian Sayin has also been impressive during fall practice and is expected to give a tough competition in the QB depth chart when the season starts in a few weeks.

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Ohio State HC Ryan Day has high praise for Will Howard

After the first day of fall camp practice, Ryan Day heaped praise on the Kansas State transfer QB's improvement over the offseason. He talked about the improvements Howard made to his game and also how he is rigorously working to be in the best shape while taking care of his physicality and diet.

"There was more zip on the ball and I thought there was more accuracy today," Day said (per On3). "It's one thing to put on weight and take off weight. But when you're talking about body fat and lean mass, and those type of things, you'll just see Howard. He looked different, he's moving differently. He worked hard on that.

"He's changed his diet, changed his workout plan and dedicated himself to the offseason. I think you're seeing that right now. Now he's got to sustain that throughout the season."

It will be interesting to see how Will Howard performs in his fifth college season in a new conference with a new team.