Every player attending rookie minicamp this weekend is happy to be with their team. A first chance to truly feel like they’re in the NFL, no longer dreaming about the chance. But Pittsburgh Steelers QB Will Howard seems even beyond that, truly grateful to find a fit with the Black and Gold.
Speaking with reporters during the team’s first day of rookie minicamp Friday, Howard’s excitement was evident.
“I’m blessed,” Howard said via the Trib’s Chris Adamski. “Could not be in a better place. Pittsburgh’s gonna get my all every single day.”
Filmed for the NFL’s Hey, Rookie docuseries, Howard’s interest in Pittsburgh existed weeks before the draft. One episode showed him meeting Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan at Ohio State Pro Day, later telling a friend he wouldn’t mind going to the Steelers. Even putting on his helmet yesterday brought a Christmas morning-like smile to Howard’s face.
Pittsburgh keeps Howard in his home state and relatively close to family. Just a four-hour drive from his Downingtown hometown, he’s essentially at the midpoint of his high school and his year in Columbus with Ohio State, leading the Buckeyes to a national championship.
With the Steelers a quarterback-needy team without a long-term option, Howard is the most developmental passer on their roster. Though far from guaranteed to be the Steelers’ solution, he has a good chance to stick as the No. 3 quarterback on the depth chart. A chance to sit and learn and grow.
“The culture just fits who I am as a person and who I am as a player,” Howard said via beat writer Mark Kaboly. “It’s close to home. I got a lot of connections to Pittsburgh. Coach T, I wanted to play for him. Arthur and [quarterbacks coach] Coach Arth. I knew Coach Arth. He recruited me at Akron and one of his players at John Carroll coached me at Ohio State last year. So I got a lot of connections with him.”
Arth served as Akron’s head coach from 2019 to 2021 and pursued Howard, a lighter recruit due to the broken arm he suffered during a critical junior season of high school. Before Akron, Arth was a legendary player and longtime head coach at John Carroll University, a coaching powerhouse that’s produced the likes of Don Shula.
The other coach Howard’s referring to is Riley Larkin, one of Ohio State’s offensive assistants. He played quarterback under Arth at John Carroll from 2015-2018.
The ties are indirect but all helpful in making the transition from college to pros. Howard, like the rest of the rookie class, is excited for the chance. Especially to do so in Pittsburgh.
