Ohio State Buckeyes QB Will Howard's Big Projection for Week 1 vs. Akron

Will Howard has received a big projection for the Ohio State Buckeyes in Week 1 vs. Akron.

Aug 27, 2024; Columbus, OH, United States; Ohio State football quarterback Will Howard smiles as he speaks with the media August 27, 2024 in the team meeting room. / Doral Chenoweth/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Will Howard is about to get his first taste of playing football for the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend.

Obviously, facing the Akron Zips is not necessarily a huge test. However, he has been hearing his name thrown around a lot this offseason. A lot of the talk has been positive, but you can be sure that he has heard all the doubts that are being thrown his direction.

Heading into Week 1 against Akron, Howard is expected to have a huge performance. If he doesn't, there will be even more speculation and negative talk about him from the media.

RotoWire has released their projection for Howard in the season opener.

In their Fantasy projections for Howard, they projected him at 346.76 yards, 2.68 touchdowns, and 0.58 interceptions. Basically, they're projecting 347 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

Should Howard cut out the interception and simply put up the other numbers, it would be exactly the kind of game that Ohio State is hoping to see from its new starting quarterback.

The yardage and touchdown total is about right. He's not going to be asked to handle the same kind of workload through the air that Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud did right off the bat.

Also, the Buckeyes have two legitimate star running backs in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. Both of those running backs are going to get a good number of touches this weekend.

If Howard can throw for around 350 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, the game would be a major success.

All of that being said, Ohio State fans can't wait for Saturday to arrive. It has been a long offseason and they're excited to see live Buckeyes' football back on TV.

Getting a chance to see what Howard is capable of for the first time is simply an added bonus. Hopefully, he lives up to the expectations and also shuts down some of the outside noise with his play.