Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Will Howard wants to be the franchise’s top player. Howard, who was the team’s sixth-round pick out of Ohio State, had said many times before that he hoped the Steelers picked him.
“As the draft went on, you never know where you’re going to end up, but you keep a little spot in your heart for where you really wanna go, and I had a little soft spot for Pittsburgh,” Howard said. “I was hoping in my heart that they picked me.”
Howard says he watched Ben Roethlisberger growing up. As a gritty player, Howard knows that he is the type of player who hits home with Steelers fans, and he would like to be the next guy for the franchise.
“They need a gritty guy,” Howard said on Up and Adams. “Growing up, for me, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was Big Ben. He was that guy. He was Pittsburgh. He was the Steel City, blue-collar, gritty guy. I want to be that, too. I want to bring the guy. I want to bring that edge, that energy, and I think I did a pretty good job at it at Ohio State. I like to pride myself on that and try to bring it to the Steel City.”
Howard transferred into Columbus from Kansas State, where he was a multiple-year starter. During his season, the Buckeyes were an up-and-down offense, but became an elite unit once Howard’s play took a significant leap in the College Football Playoff.
This season, Howard threw for 4010 passing yards, a career-high. With that, he posted a 73 percent completion percentage, another career-high mark. Howard had 35 touchdowns to 10 interceptions.
Howard is one of the most experienced quarterbacks in the entire class, having started 50 games since 2020, with four years at Kansas State. The Steelers now have three quarterbacks on their roster, as Howard joins Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson.