If Will Howard doesn’t have a successful NFL career, it won’t be for a lack of trying. After a rookie season partially lost due to injury, Howard’s doing all he can to maximize his reps to begin his sophomore season. During Sunday’s No. 1 Cochran Sports Show on KDKA, host Rich Walsh shared a nugget of information to prove the point.
“Will Howard is out there 45 minutes after everyone else,” Walsh told the panel. “He might be the hardest worker on the team.”
Howard was ineligible for rookie minicamp due to his accrued season earned while on injured reserve and the 53-man roster last season, but he attended voluntary minicamp before the draft. This phase of the offseason also permits informal on-field work for players. Walsh may also be noting what he saw from Howard after being activated off injured reserve last season, returning to practice and running scout team.
In our first training camp diary last season, we noted Howard staying after practice to throw to veteran WR Robert Woods Jr.
Whatever work Howard is getting in is light. Still, it’s important. Extra reps to work on his footwork, timing, and chemistry with receivers are all valuable as he pushes for the No. 2 spot this summer. Something that won’t go unnoticed by the coaches.
Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks have been hard at work already. With Howard taking extra reps, rookie Drew Allar served as the team’s only quarterback in rookie minicamp. Mike McCarthy pushed him to take all 35 team reps and Allar seemingly passed the test.
The panel responded to Walsh’s comments by noting Howard has the makeup for a future NFL coach. Chris Adamski compared him to Kevin O’Connell, a third-round pick who threw only six career passes before becoming a successful coach.
Maybe Howard follows a similar path. For now, he hopes coaching isn’t in his near future. He has a chance to do more than rehab and run the scout team this season. He could open the year as Pittsburgh’s backup quarterback or even starter should Aaron Rodgers not sign with the team. That’ll come one rep at a time, and it sounds like Howard is absorbing as many as he can along the way.
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