When the Pittsburgh Steelers take the field at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp, there are plenty of eyes on the offense. A big part of that is QB Aaron Rodgers. After all, not every NFL team has a future Hall of Famer lining up under center for the first time. But there are plenty of eyes on rookie QB Will Howard as well.
And that makes sense. Howard is coming off winning the national championship with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Even as a sixth-round pick, a lot of people are going to want to see what Howard brings to the table. And his quarterbacks coach, Tom Arth, thinks quite highly of him so far.
“He’s a very smart player, a very confident player, and he relates to his teammates well,” Arth said on Monday’s episode of the Letters From Camp Podcast. “The moment’s never too big for him. He has the ability to just step in and be himself and go out there and execute. What I love about Will is he plays the game so well from the pocket. He sees it, he’s so comfortable in the pocket, moves really well in the pocket here. He’s a very accurate passer. And those qualities typically lead to a very successful career. We’re excited about the future that he has, and obviously, very early, and haven’t even played a preseason game yet. But we’re very pleased with the development that we’ve seen thus far.”
And it wasn’t like Arth started with a low opinion of Will Howard, either. Earlier this offseason, Arth recounted a story of visiting Ohio State and being blown away by the hard work Howard put in off the field. So, that was a favorable first impression.
And, according to Arth, Will Howard has continued to impress his coaches in Pittsburgh. Arth believes that Howard has the tools to play in the NFL for a long time. And it seems like Howard is progressing well through the spring and summer with the Steelers.
Thankfully for him, there is no pressure for Howard to start early with the Steelers. Rodgers is the starter, and both Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are veteran quarterbacks. Howard can focus on improving while learning from the veterans around him, especially Rodgers.
And if Howard plays in the NFL for a long time, it won’t surprise Rodgers. Only time will tell if he will carve out a long career and what type of career it will be. But his quarterbacks coach has full faith he can do it. And the Steelers hope Howard proves him right.
