OSU’s Will Howard Responds to Ryan Day’s Stern Demands as Playoff Glory Rests on His Shoulders

Oh! The pressures of a quarterback! When we think about Ohio State, it’s their HC Ryan Day who seems to be under the biggest pressure. No Big Ten championship appearance. Faced his fourth consecutive loss to Michigan in The Game. No national championship title in his six seasons as the Buckeyes HC. So this year’s playoff is crucial for him. And not just him. QB Will Howard enters the picture to share the pressure with his coach. 

During his pregame press conference speech on WBNS 10TV on December 17, Will Howard revealed that he’s aware of Ryan Day’s confidence in him. Calling the last Michigan loss “hard,” the Buckeyes signal caller affirms his consciousness of his value in the upcoming playoff game. He said, “My ability to push this team and to lead this team in this game is gonna be crucial. And I know that. If we can maintain the edge that we had in that Indiana game and just come out there, I need to be the one that sparks that. I need to make sure that I’m bringing all that game and that’s gonna be crucial.”

This response came hours after Ryan Day’s pregame conference speech, where he handed No. 8 Ohio State’s playoff fate to Will Howard. He told the media that his star play maker “just needs to be himself” to win their first round playoff game against Josh Heupel and No. 9 Tennessee at The Shoe. He said, “He’s got a tremendous makeup. He’s very positive and the guys feed off of that, and he’s confident, and so he’s got to be himself, and his preparation will allow him to play confidently.” 

It didn’t matter that Will Howard is a first-year QB at Ohio State. After spending five seasons with Kansas State, he transferred to Columbus to break a program history. He recorded six games with at least 80 percent completion rates in a single season! This season, he threw for 2,860 yards and 27 touchdowns. He also rushed 73 times for 131 yards and seven touchdowns. But it’s going to be the next game that will decide some people’s fates. And Howard has an interesting mindset to handle what’s ahead. 

Will Howard relies on faith in the upcoming playoff against Tennessee 

When everybody places their hope in you, you need help from something bigger. And that’s what Will Howard is doing as he rests his anxiety on God. He said, “I know that God is putting those obstacles in front of us to grow us, and there’s a reason for it. I’m going to just trust the plan.” We all know what happened in the last 13-10 loss against Michigan, a mistake that the 23-year-old senior QB has undoubtedly acknowledged. 

The thing about mistakes is that you either run from it or learn from it. Will Howard threw two costly interceptions and also incurred a severe hit that had him out of several plays at The Game. But see what he thinks about this “obstacle” days later. He said, “It hurt. It hurt for all of us. It wasn’t what we expected. It wasn’t what we wanted to happen but we’ve moved past it now. Because we have to. If we let them beat us twice, that’s the real kicker.”

Can the loss motivate them enough to defeat Tennessee when they travel to Ohio Stadium for the first round of the first ever 12-team playoffs?