Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers’ sixth-round pick Will Howard enters a Steelers quarterback room that includes Mason Rudolph and former Kansas State teammate Skylar Thompson. Of course, his position on the totem pole will rely heavily on the looming decision of Aaron Rodgers.
As of right now, Howard is just focusing on outworking everyone.
“That’s what I like to hang my hat on — working hard. You know, I may not be the most talented guy in the world all the time — but I’m going to outwork everybody,” Howard told Missi Matthews of Steelers.com in a one-one-one interview. “That’s what I like to be about: bringing the heart, bringing the fire, and just outworking people.”
Howard, who is known for his acute work ethic and film study, wanted to get to work shortly after getting selected by the Steelers. Speaking to Devin Jackson of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Howard’s mother, Maureen, said the Steelers coaches gave him the weekend off despite wanting to get a head start on study the playbook.
“On Sunday, Howard reached out to Steelers quarterbacks coach Tom Arth for plays, according to his mother, much to the delight of the Steelers coaching staff,” Jackson wrote. ”[Arth] wrote [Howard] back and said, ‘Hey, we were going to give you the weekend off, but this is why we drafted you, because it’s the kind of worker you are.”
Howard played a key part in Ohio State’s National Championship run last season. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound signal-caller has the tools to succeed. He stared down pressure well and set the Buckeyes’ single-season and career completion records.
Former NFL head coach Jon Gruden thinks Howard could be one of the biggest steals in the draft.
“I’ll go on record here. The Pittsburgh Steelers got a steal in Will Howard. Let me tell you something. That guy is a stud,” Gruden said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I think there are some guys that are pretty darn good in this year’s class. They just got to go prove it.”
Howard appeared on Ben Roethlisberger’s Footbahlin podcast earlier this month and shared one key detail that separates him from other quarterbacks.
“Something I like to hang my hat on is dealing with adversity. I think in my career, at K-State and then at Ohio State this past year, I’ve seen pretty much every situation a quarterback can see,” Howard said. “I started off as a backup, and I got thrown in as a true freshman and didn’t know what I was doing. I got benched, man. I’ve been the third-string quarterback. I’ve been a freaking starter, coming in and winning a championship. And then, you know, having a guy come in and split time with you. I’ve seen almost every situation.”
Despite the fact that Howard achieved what he set out to do, he ended up being a sixth-round pick. A fair amount can be attributed to his underwhelming NFL Scouting Combine performance or the perception of being carried by elite talent at Ohio State.
Regardless, Howard...
