NFL Draft
3/2/25
7 min read
Will Howard 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Ohio State Buckeyes QB
Height: 6042 (verified)
Weight: 236lbs (verified)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Kyle Trask
Scouting Overview
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard projects as a developmental quarterback at the pro level. His play in Columbus made a huge leap relative to his four seasons at Kansas State, aided in large part by his loaded supporting cast.
He trusted his receivers in 1-on-1 situations, offered toughness and leadership, and came up big when it mattered most. Howard can refine and squeeze more out of his raw ability as a passer, but his big growth areas come from increased and faster processing between the ears.
He’s got baseline NFL quarterback ability — but despite being an older quarterback with more exposure, he still can struggle to diagnose coverage and make good decisions under duress. In the perfect environment with a good team around him, he could potentially be a sufficient level starter but is ideally built for a bridge quarterback or backup role long-term.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| QB | Will Howard | Ohio State | 112 | 31.5 | 7.13 | 4.33 |
Positives
- Showcases very good toughness within the pocket to stand in and deliver
- Possesses necessary arm strength to attack all levels of the field
- Well-tenured quarterback who has been exposed to a lot of football and delivered in some big moments
Negatives
- General coverage diagnosis is in need of further development, particularly against inverted coverage
- Offers only sufficient level accuracy as a passer and can be made to pay when testing tight windows
- Can be pressured into poor decision-making within the pocket and needs to operate faster against added rushers
Background
Howard is from Downingtown, PA, and played high school football for Downingtown West HS. There, he was a standout pro-style quarterback who starred on the hardwood and the gridiron as a two-sport athlete. A 3-star recruit (247 Sports), Howard collected offers from about a dozen college programs and ultimately chose to enroll at Kansas State.
As a true freshman in 2020, Howard collected the starting job from injured incumbent Skylar Thompson about halfway through the year. Howard started the final seven games of the season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Howard retained his full four years of eligibility.
In 2021, Howard had three additional starts and played in six total games. He split time with transfer QB Adrian Martinez as a third-year sophomore in 2022 before serving as the team’s unquestioned starter throughout the 2023 season.
After his junior year, Howard entered the transfer portal as a 4-star transfer prize (247 Sports). He enrolled at Ohio State and was named the team’s starting quarterback in early August. By the end of the season, the Buckeyes were national champions, and Howard played his best ball in the biggest moments.
He finished the year with more than 4,000 yards passing and 35 passing touchdowns to help Ohio State run through Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame in the Playoff. He was named the Offensive MVP of the CFP Playoff National Championship game.
Tale Of The Tape
The traditional pocket passer model of quarterback gets a 2025 entry in the form of Will Howard. When you think old school quarterbacks who stand and survey the pocket with height, that’s Howard. He’s a talented thrower with room for refinement in his mechanics and delivery to help optimize his physical ability. He should be considered to have above-average arm strength and sufficient accuracy.
He’s a tough son of a gun, too. It’s easy to appreciate how he will stand in against pressure and take one between the numbers to try to deliver down the field. He does not have the quickest release and, accordingly, will need this ability to allow some middle-of-the-field and downfield opportunities to develop.
He’s got the zip on the ball to take throws to the field and be unbothered, although multiple of his interceptions last year came on late throws to the far side of the field, so his timing and discipline need to be better.
Despite his stature, he offers enough mobility to run the boot game and get outside the pocket for moving launch points. He does not, however, offer the kind of quick twitch ability that makes his legs a threat and his escapability within the pocket is compromised as a result.
When he climbs up the pocket, his eyes can get stuck looking for the first eligible he prefers to try to uncover. He’s missed a number of chunk plays down the field as a result of this habit and took some sacks, too.
Howard has this going for him: he knows where his dudes are at on every play and was effective in making sure he fed the football to his stars. He was aggressive and assertive against man coverage and 1-on-1s to both Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith. Both players got their fair share of 50/50 throws their way, and Howard usually offered enough placement on those opportunities downfield to put the ball away from defensive leverage and offer a real chance at a completion.
If he has smaller targets at the NFL level, these reps may be nonexistent, forcing him to play in the areas of the game where he stands to benefit the most from more growth.
Howard was busted on a number of occasions, double clutching or throwing into pressure. Trap coverages, inverted rotations, and unexpected spot droppers all triggered on throws and took away throwing windows without Howard seemingly ever spotting them.
Some of his most painful reps came against a squatting zone defender who read his eyes and attacked Howard’s release. As a result, he’ll need to throw with some more anticipation. He’s big and long and doesn’t have the fastest release, so there’s more work on the front end of these plays to protect the ball since he does not have a cannon arm.
His ball security was generally fine, but teams that change the picture post-snap and force him to work on progressions can get his wires crossed. He’ll see more of this at the NFL level and must continue to sharpen and hone his pre-snap anticipation and post-snap confirmations.
Howard’s best quality may be an unmeasured one. He’s got a good demeanor and confidence. His ability to assimilate into the Ohio State locker room and quickly claim such a sturdy leadership role in a different ecosystem is paralleled only by what we saw from Cam Ward in Miami from this year’s quarterback group.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Howard projects as a developmental quarterback prospect. His leap in play was aided by a strong supporting cast at Ohio State, but he boasts good leadership intangibles, ideal stature to win from the pocket, enough mobility to get outside and throw on the move, and more.
However, his coverage diagnosis and accuracy are too infrequent to be considered a viable candidate to start early. He has enough upside to warrant potential as a spot starter down the road.
Grade: 71.00/100.00, Fifth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
Make sure to check out our new home for all of our NFL Draft content.
