Before he even made it to Pittsburgh, rookie quarterback Will Howard was endearing himself to the Steelers’ coaching staff. Excited to hear his name called and land with an NFL team, especially one he connected with as much as Pittsburgh, Howard wanted to waste no time getting up to speed.
In a great feature article from The Inquirer’s Devin Jackson, Howard almost immediately asked quarterbacks coach Tom Arth for the playbook. Arth had to pull him back.
“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.
“[Arth] wrote [Will] 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’s mother, Maureen, told Jackson.
Per the article, Howard reached out on Sunday to ask for the head start. It’s a similar rookie story to 2021 first-round pick RB Najee Harris. During spring practices, RBs Coach Eddie Faulkner had to lovingly kick Harris out of the building, the rookie eager to stay and watch more film.
Moments like these from Howard are a driving reason why he was the Steelers’ selection. Liking the person as much as the player, Howard is regarded as bright and hardworking. Out of high school, his GPA was over 4.0, his SAT score surpassed 1,300, and he was recruited by a bevy of Ivy League schools (Cornell, Harvard, Princeton) before Power 4 schools jumped in to offer.
Projected to be an early Day Three selection pre-draft, landing Howard in the sixth round is excellent value. We were high on him throughout the process, pointing to his starter traits on tape. Though not a power thrower, his touch and accuracy are impressive and make him stand out from other quarterbacks in the class. Howard also played his best football when the games mattered most, leading Ohio State to a national title.
Despite the upside, Howard will have to fight for a roster spot. It’ll be far from guaranteed. In fact, his Pittsburgh battle will look a lot like the ones he had in college. At Kansas State, he competed with current Steelers’ teammate Skylar Thompson for the starting job, the two going back and forth when poor play or injury forced a change. No matter who comes out on top, it’s obvious that work ethic won’t be the problem with Howard.
