Rookie minicamp is the first opportunity that all rookies (and a few veterans) have to work together ahead of the 2025 season. They don’t get super into the weeds on installing schemes. They don’t even have their helmets on full-time yet. But the coaches are still beginning to evaluate what they have in the young players. Mike Tomlin detailed what he looks for in rookie quarterbacks specifically, which would include sixth-round QB Will Howard.
“Huddle command, communication, the ability to regurgitate new information,” Tomlin said in a clip posted by Steelers Live on X. “By new information, I mean information that’s new to them. And so I don’t want to underscore how difficult it is to receive some of the verbiage from a play caller and have to regurgitate it to 10 others that are waiting for it.
“…The giving and receiving of information is a central component of leadership at the position.”
The two quarterbacks in attendance at this event are Howard and former New Hampshire QB Seth Morgan, who is with the team on a tryout basis.
In some of the clips that have surfaced from practice, the quarterbacks aren’t even throwing the ball yet in the team sessions. It is purely a mental exercise of receiving the snap and walking through progressions. This allows them to focus entirely on the receiving and disseminating of information.
Tomlin was asked specifically how Howard has looked given the list of expectations for quarterbacks he previously stated.
“He’s doing great,” Tomlin said. “But again, we’re at the very beginning of it. I don’t know that we’re looking at it through that lens in terms of evaluating him. It’s more about getting to know him.”
The mental aspect of Howard’s game is an area where he is likely to shine. His 94th-percentile SAT score speaks to how smart he is, and the fact that he went from transferring schools to winning the national championship is further proof. He had to pick up on a whole new set of lingo and play calls in an entirely different offensive system than K-State and lead his offense with it. There were growing pains, but he got better as the season went on and was excellent in the playoffs.
There is also further evidence of his ability to pick up on playbooks and lingo from his episode of Gruden’s QB Class. Gruden installed five different audibles for different defensive alignments and situations, and Howard was expected to remember which call was for which situation. He aced that exercise and effectively applied what he quickly learned for five minutes in the classroom.
At the combine, he told me his best trait other than playing well in the biggest moments. He pointed to his mental processing and memory recall.
“I can talk through pretty much any play. If you want to bring up a play, I’ll tell you why I did what I did, what the read was, what the play call was, what the protection was. I know pretty much all that stuff,” he said. “I think that’s one of the best parts of my game. I believe I’m an elite processor. I can recall things like nothing.”
If that is what Tomlin and the other coaches are gauging, I imagine Howard has a chance to ace the first step of the process.
