Calling Will Howard the next Ben Roethlisberger is certainly a stretch. Not just in career arc but in style. Coming out of college, Roethlisberger played a less conventional brand of football. He ran around, created, and made plays up as he went along. Howard might not get his due for being a solid athlete, but he won’t be throwing lasers with defensive tackles hanging off him. Still, in their 90-minute conversation in his latest Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger relayed how he sees plenty of similarities between the two.
“We have a lot of, I’m finding out a lot of similarities,” Roethlisberger told Howard. “Shortstop, baseball. Basketball was my first love all the way till now. Still love basketball more. I played point guard, and my coach did the same thing. He said, ‘I told you you could play college basketball.’ He goes, ‘but how many 6-5 white point guards you see? Not very many. Not many.’ He goes, ‘What about 6-5 white quarterbacks? Let’s give it a shot.'”
Roethlisberger’s comments came after Howard shared a similar upbringing. A multi-sport athlete throughout high school, Howard said basketball was his first love. An accomplished player, he was a 6-4 power forward who realized his success would dry up at the college level. That pushed him to take football more seriously.
Both players were overlooked in high school. Thanks to the head coach’s son topping the quarterback depth chart, Roethlisberger was stuck playing receiver until his senior year and wound up at Miami (Ohio). Howard was on the cusp of becoming a big-name recruit until breaking his arm his junior year. Power programs like Penn State left him off the map. Howard was prepared to head to the Ivy League until an official visit to Kansas State felt like home.
From there, their paths have diverged. Roethlisberger became the 11th overall pick in a historically strong quarterback class. Howard gained national fame for winning a title at Ohio State but had to wait until the sixth round to be drafted.
If there is any NFL comparison to make, both could enter the summer No. 3 on the depth chart. Roethlisberger was slated to sit behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch before injuries to both opened the door for him. The rest, as they say, is history. Howard could be the No. 3 assuming Aaron Rodgers signs and Mason Rudolph shifts down one rung, though he’ll still be battling Skylar Thompson. Pittsburgh’s plan and hope is for Howard to sit all season. If he’s playing, something’s gone seriously wrong.
But last year, 59 quarterbacks started at least one game. In 2023, 67 did, an average of more than two per team. Since Roethlisberger’s retirement, the Steelers have started multiple quarterbacks each season and five in total. Like with Roethlisberger, a couple of injuries would open the door for a rookie like Howard to show what he’s made of.
