No one knows what rookie quarterback Will Howard will become. As a sixth-round pick, his odds are long, and the mountain to climb is steep. But former QB Ben Roethlisberger and former OC Randy Fichtner like the look of Howard, giving him a chance to surpass expectations. Fichtner served as a guest on the latest episode of Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast, with both offering praise for Howard.
“He looks like a big guy,” Fichtner told Roethlisberger and co-host Spencer Te’o. “Looks like he’s a caring guy. Looks like he breathes football. Looks like he loves the game. It looks like he probably loves the Steelers. I mean, absolutely. Already loves the Steelers. That’s a mindset alone that’s a positive.”
Howard was overcome with emotion after Pittsburgh drafted him in the sixth round of April’s draft. The NFL Network documentary crew that followed Howard throughout the pre-draft press conference caught several moments of Howard either impressed by his Steelers’ interactions or explicitly hoping to be drafted by Pittsburgh, a wish that came true and took a Pennsylvania native back home.
Though it’s only been spring workouts, Howard has generated positive press so far. His maturity, poise, and work ethic have all been praised. Roethlisberger invited him and teammate Jack Sawyer on an earlier edition of his podcast. The two bonded over their love of basketball growing up and similar upbringings as light recruits who proved plenty of doubters wrong.
Roethlisberger continued to praise Howard’s makeup, though he admitted judging him as a quarterback is still too early.
“The reason I liked him is when he goes and loses the first game at Oregon. Slides, we talked about the show, he lost the game. He knows he lost the game. He bounces back and wins and blows them out in the Rose Bowl. And then wins the national championship. There’s something to be said about that. He could have quit. He could have let his team down. A lot of things could have happened. He didn’t. He looks like a winner to me.”
Howard has won everywhere he’s gone. He brought Kansas State to a Big 12 Championship that few expected the program to achieve. He won a title at Ohio State despite tough regular-season losses to Oregon and Michigan, not letting those moments spoil the season.
Winning at the NFL level is a different kind of challenge, but Fichtner and Roethlisberger see the intangibles in Howard that provide the foundation for a successful career. Learning from Aaron Rodgers, open to being a mentor, certainly won’t hurt.
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