Ex-Kansas State QB Howard picks Ohio State
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard told ESPN that he has verbally committed to transfer to Ohio State, linking one of the top portal quarterbacks with a high-wattage destination.
Howard led Kansas State to the Big 12 title in 2022 and gives the Buckeyes one of the most talented and experienced signal callers available on the transfer market.
Howard went 12-5 as Kansas State’s starter in 2022 and 2023 and led Kansas State to a Big 12 title game win over TCU in 2022. The Ohio State staff evaluated all of the top portal quarterbacks and arrived with conviction that Howard was the best among them, as they valued his arm strength, experience and dual-threat ability.
He’ll be a fifth-year senior with one year of eligibility remaining, and he’ll enter Ohio State as the favorite to start in 2024. He chose Ohio State after visiting both Miami and USC. He also seriously looked at heading to the NFL. He visited Ohio State this week and is expected to wrap up there on Thursday night.
“I’m glad I took my time with this decision,” Howard told ESPN. “Through it, I got to learn a lot about myself and college football in general. It was a great process. I’m really glad I ended up choosing Ohio State.
“I knew if that if I passed this up, I’d regret passing up the chance to go be the quarterback at Ohio State. I knew I’d be kicking myself if I passed up this opportunity.”
Overall in his career, Howard has started 27 games, thrown for 48 touchdowns and 5,786 yards, and run for 19 additional touchdowns. Howard brings an dual-threat element, as he has 921 career rushing yards.
Howard’s best statistical season came in 2023, as he completed 61.3% of his passes and finished the year with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Opposing coaches consistently complimented his development, as he became a polished passer and earned second-team All Big-12 honors in 2023.
There were multiple pulls to Ohio State. Howard stressed that he enjoyed getting to know both Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson and USC coach Lincoln Riley. But he ultimately found Ohio State as the most ready to compete immediately for a national title.
“When I started talking to Ohio State, everything kind of lined up,” Howard said. “I had a list of things I was looking for, in terms of needing to go somewhere where there was a lot of talent around me and somewhere I could compete for a national championship.”
Howard also brings individual goals, as he said the feedback he got from the NFL is that he projected anywhere between the late second round and the fourth round.
Howard received a coveted Senior Bowl invitation this week, per sources. But he realizes a season of winning big at Ohio State would go a long way in helping his draft stock.
“The goal I have, I want to go win a national championship,” he said. “At the end of the day, I want to go be a starting quarterback in the NFL…I feel like the best place to stick as a quarterback in the NFL is as a first or second-round pick in the NFL Draft. Going to Ohio State gives me a chance to make a jump and leap into that conversation.”
That’s where Ohio State’s scheme proved appealing, as Ohio State coach Ryan Day has tutored three first-round picks at quarterback since 2019, including current NFL Rookie of the Year favorite C.J. Stroud.
“Talking to Coach Day about the scheme, I got excited,” Howard said, stressing that pro concepts in Ohio State’s offense. “Kansas State is very pro-style, and gets you ready for the pros better than most programs in the country. I didn’t want to lose any of that momentum.
“When Coach Day and I met and went through the scheme, I’m a total football nerd and talk ball all day. We hit it off in that way. I knew that was the system that would get me the most prepared for that level.”
Howard said that initially when he left Kansas State, he was genuinely uncertain about whether or not he’d declare for the NFL draft. He enjoyed his experience at Kansas State and said it was surreal to watch them play in the Pop Tart Bowl on television. (He said a group FaceTime with a handful of former teammates made that easier.)
“Kansas State was everything I could have wanted out of a college experience,” he said. “When I started playing as a true freshman, I didn’t know what I was doing out there. It was COVID year. I got thrown into the fire and was unsure of myself.”
He finished by leading the team to the Big 12 title last season after taking over the starting job and beating TCU in the Big 12 championship. He then led Kansas State to a 8-4 season in 2023. It included an overtime loss to Texas and falling to Missouri on a 61-yard field goal.
He said that he’s remained close to Kansas State coach Chris Klieman, who he’s consulted with throughout his transfer process.
“All the experiences and the stuff I had to go through there, the tough times and the great times and the relationships, it turned me into who I am today,” he said, summing up his Kansas State experience. “I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.”
Howard knows he’s entering Ohio State at a pressure-packed time, as the Buckeyes began the last two seasons 11-0 but lost to Michigan both years. Last year, Ohio State lost to Georgia in the final seconds of a College Football Playoff thriller. This year, the Buckeyes 14-3 to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. They’ve lost three straight to Michigan.
He’s quickly learned the passion of the rivalry, as when a reporter asked him about Michigan he quickly cut in — “You mean the Team Up North.” He laughed: “They won’t say that M word. I guess I won’t be saying it either.”
He did acknowledge the pressure cooker he’s walking into, as the Buckeyes enter 2024 on a two-game losing streak and they’ll be an increased onus on beating Michigan.
“We definitely talked about that,” he said. “That game means so much. The pressure is on. Beating that Team Up North is priority No. 1 on the way to the national championship and all our other goals. That’s huge and it’s everything when it comes to playing for Ohio State.”
“I know the implications and what it means to the fan base and everyone in the program. That’s the Team Up North now.”
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is starting to take shape.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. become the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He has since been followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.
As the entrants are announced, we’ll add them to the running list below — and break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 9 | Longest: 467 feet
Why he could win: Acuna has been crushing it since he returned to the lineup May 23 after knee surgery. Indeed, his numbers are even better than during his MVP season in 2023. It should help that he’ll be hitting in front of his home fans in Atlanta: Todd Frazier in Cincinnati in 2015 and Bryce Harper with the Nationals in 2018 rode the loud support to Derby titles. Acuna’s raw power should also translate well to the Derby: Among players with at least 500 at-bats since 2023, he has the longest average home run distance in the majors.
Why he might not: Will he run into Pete Alonso again? Acuna competed in the 2019 and 2022 contests, losing both times to Alonso by a single home run (in the semifinals in 2019 and in the first round in 2022). The home-field advantage can also perhaps be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first with 41 home runs but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 35 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, with 32 home runs, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he can win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he won’t: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pittsburgh Pirates are back on the board after Tommy Pham‘s two-run home run in the third inning at Kansas City on Monday night ended a 30-inning scoreless streak.
The Pirates had been shut out in all three games at Seattle during their previous series.
However, they tallied another loss against the Royals, losing 9-3.
The scoreless streak included Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Mariners in which Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes threw 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings before the Pirates gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Before beginning this nine-game trip with the sweep by the Mariners, the Pirates had blanked the St. Louis Cardinals in three consecutive home games. Their streak of playing in six straight shutouts matched the longest in major league history.
Pham, a 12-year veteran who is in his first season with the Pirates, bookended the scoreless skid with RBIs. He drove in a seventh-inning run with a groundout Wednesday during the 5-0 victory over the Cardinals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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