Former Ohio State QBs Ranked Higher Than Will Howard By Experts

One national expert ranked Will Howard below these two former Ohio State quarterbacks.

Sep 7, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) throws a pass during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Western Michigan Broncos at Ohio Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

It appears that Ohio State quarterback Will Howard’s performance during a 56-0 win over Western Michigan isn’t good enough to put him on everyone’s radar.

In CBS’ Tom Fornelli’s latest QB Power Rankings, Howard wasn’t placed within the top 15. Meanwhile, a pair of former Buckeyes, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, and Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord, found themselves at one and seven on the list, respectively.

Nobody should act like a pair of Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools are the toughest opponents in the country. But Will Howard did look exceptional in three of the four halves in those two games. 

Howard was included in Fornelli’s preseason rankings, where he seeded eighth on the list. The downside from Howard is limited thus far and certainly not enough to bump him outside the honorable mentions.

Meanwhile, Quinn Ewers was placed in the top spot on the list, leaping over Georgia’s Carson Beck. It appears Fornelli values a good performance against a ranked opponent. Ewers dominated Michigan in their 31-12 win. The Texas native threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns without turning the ball over. 

The real surprise on this list comes in the form of Kyle McCord. He looked exceptional in Orange’s first two games, but it’s not the same résumé as Ewers. He beat up on a MAC school himself in a 38-26 win over the Ohio Bobcats. He also led Syracuse to their first win against a ranked opponent since 2022 by taking down Georgia Tech 31-28. 

Georgia Tech was hardly considered a top-25 team. After upsetting an overrated Florida State team, it appeared customary that the Yellow Jackets cracked the list. 

The stats look great for McCord, with back-to-back four touchdown games and throwing for more than 350 yards in both contests. However, it can’t be ignored that the quarterback has averaged 42.5 pass attempts per game. That comes in 15.5 more than Howard this season.

With Ohio State on a bye this week, Howard’s next chance to crack the list will be following the Buckeyes game against Marshall on September 21st.