Will Howard (American football)
Will Howard (born September 24, 2001) is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Kansas State Wildcats.
Kansas State Wildcats – No. 18 | |
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Position | Quarterback |
Class | Senior |
Major | Accounting |
Personal information | |
Born: | West Chester, Pennsylvania | September 24, 2001
Height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Weight | 242 lb (110 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
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Bowl games | |
High school | Downingtown West (Downingtown, Pennsylvania) |
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Early life and high school
Howard grew up in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and attended Downingtown West High School.[1][2] He was named the Maxwell Football Club Pennsylvania Player of the Year after passing for 2,543 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior.[3] Howard finished his high school career with 5,308 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes while also rushing for 512 yards and 21 touchdowns.[4] He also was a two-time All-Area selection in basketball and scored over 1,000 points in his varsity career.[5]
Howard was rated a three-star recruit and received over 20 total scholarship offers.[1] He committed to play college football at Kansas State after considering offers from Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Kansas.[6]
College career
Howard joined the Kansas State Wildcats as an early enrollee in January 2020.[7] He began his freshman season as the backup to starting quarterback Skylar Thompson and started the final seven games after Thompson suffered a serious injury.[8][9] Howard finished the season with 90 completions on 168 pass attempts for 1,178 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 364 yards and three touchdowns.[10] He served as Thompson's backup again as a sophomore after competing for the starting job in practice.[11] Howard played in six games with three starts.
As a junior, Howard began spring practice as the Wildcats first-string quarterback.[12] Transfer Adrian Martinez was ultimately named the starter going into the 2022 and he initially intended to redshirt the season.[13][14] Howard came in relief of Martinez after he suffered an injury against TCU and led the Wildcats on four straight touchdown drives and started the following game against Oklahoma State.[15] Howard completed 19 of 27 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Martinez after he suffered another injury against Baylor.[16] He became Kansas State's starting quarterback a second time after it was revealed Martinez's injury was serious.[17][18] Howard finished the season with 1,633 passing yards and 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games played.[19]
College statistics
Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
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GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
Kansas State Wildcats | ||||||||||||||||
2020 | 9 | 7 | 2−5 | 90 | 168 | 53.6 | 1,178 | 7.0 | 8 | 10 | 116.3 | 78 | 364 | 4.7 | 3 | |
2021 | 5 | 3 | 1−2 | 30 | 55 | 54.5 | 332 | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 107.6 | 32 | 184 | 5.8 | 4 | |
2022 | 7 | 5 | 4−1 | 119 | 199 | 59.8 | 1,633 | 8.2 | 15 | 4 | 149.6 | 35 | 22 | 0.6 | 3 | |
2023 | 5 | 5 | 3−2 | 106 | 173 | 61.3 | 1,224 | 7.1 | 9 | 7 | 129.8 | 38 | 227 | 6.0 | 6 | |
Career[20] | 27 | 20 | 10−10 | 345 | 595 | 58.0 | 4,367 | 7.3 | 33 | 22 | 130.5 | 183 | 797 | 4.4 | 16 |
References
- Anastasia, Phil (August 12, 2019). "Football recruiting: Downingtown West's Will Howard finds 'home' with Carson Wentz's former coach". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "Downingtown West's Will Howard is top passer". Philadelphia Inquirer. September 26, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- Anastasia, Phil (December 13, 2019). "Downingtown West's Will Howard is player of year". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "Will Howard might be called upon to start at quarterback for Kansas State on Saturday". The Manhattan Mercury. October 9, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Settle, Colin (August 20, 2021). "Countdown to Kickoff: 15 days away with quarterback Will Howard, defensive tackle Robert Hentz II". Kansas State Collegian. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Young, Derek (June 23, 2019). "Quarterback Will Howard commits to Kansas State". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- Santoliquito, Joseph (January 10, 2020). "Downington West star QB Will Howard ready to get his college career started early". PhillyVoice.com. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "K-State's Howard still evolving". The Salina Journal. November 20, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Skretta, David (August 20, 2021). "K-State welcomes back QBs Thompson, Howard to lead this year". APNews.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- "Kansas State loses QB with Wolf Pack coming to town". Nevada Appeal. September 13, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "'This isn't our first rodeo': Why K-State QB Will Howard feels ready for starting job". The Wichita Eagle. September 15, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- "Will Howard QB1 at K-State Wildcats spring football practice". The Wichita Eagle. April 1, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- Robinette, Kellis (October 31, 2022). "After two years of struggles, Kansas State quarterback Will Howard is suddenly a hero". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "'It's his football team': Will Howard ready to burn redshirt, lead K-State offense". The Wichita Eagle. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Thamel, Pete (October 29, 2022). "Kansas State starts Will Howard over hurt QB Adrian Martinez". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Dixon, Schuyler (November 12, 2022). "Super sub Howard leads No. 23 K-State to 31-3 rout of Baylor". APNews.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- "K-State Wildcats vs. Baylor Bears: Will Howard game analysis". The Wichita Eagle. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
- "Will Howard will be Kansas State football's starting quarterback at West Virginia". The Topeka Capital-Journal. November 15, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
- Green, Arne (July 24, 2023). "Why Kansas State football quarterback Will Howard is oozing confidence for the 2023 season". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
- "Will Howard College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2022.