‘This isn’t our first rodeo’: Why K-State QB Will Howard feels ready for starting job
Some Kansas State football fans may have lost confidence in Will Howard after watching the sophomore quarterback struggle mightily during a too-close-for-comfort victory over Southern Illinois last week, but he still has the support of his coaches and teammates.
“We have all the confidence in the world in him,” K-State receiver Landry Weber said. “It’s great that we have two starting quarterbacks on our roster.”
Usual starter Skylar Thompson won’t be available for K-State’s next game against Nevada. He’s recovering from a scary knee injury that he suffered in the first half against the Salukis. K-State coach Chris Klieman hasn’t said when he expects Thompson to return to the field, but it won’t happen this week and it’s also unlikely to happen in time for the Wildcats’ Big 12 opener at Oklahoma State.
That means Howard will serve as K-State’s starting quarterback for at least a few games.
How much does that change things for the Wildcats? Enough for them to enter Saturday’s game against the Wolf Pack as home underdogs against an unranked non-conference opponent. That hasn’t happened since the beginning of the Bill Snyder era nearly 30 years ago.
But Howard isn’t worried. Even though he’s only a sophomore, he has already made seven college starts and he has helped the Wildcats to four victories when Thompson has been unable to play. Experience is on his side.
“We’ve been here before,” Howard said. “That’s what we’ve been saying all week. We’ve been here before. This isn’t our first rodeo with this, so we’re just trying to take it one day at a time, one play at a time, changing our mentality ... I have got a good feeling about this weekend.”
Some may wonder where Howard gets his confidence from, considering he was part of five-straight losses at the end of last season and then struggled against a FCS opponent on Saturday. Howard didn’t give fans much reason to cheer in his first appearance of 2021, as he threw for just 76 yards and committed a pair of penalties that led directly to two SIU touchdowns.
Then again, he did complete a 21-yard strike to Weber on a touchdown drive in the second quarter, as well as a 21-yard pass to Phillip Brooks on a game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter.
“I had two pretty good throws on third down when it counted,” Howard said.
Perhaps a full week of practice with K-State’s starting offense will help bring out more of those plays against Nevada.
“It’s always tough getting thrown in there like that,” Howard said. “But I feel like the pace of the game has slowed down a lot for me. I feel like last year, as tough as it was, gave me a lot of experience and just reps that I didn’t have before this ... I feel like a different player physically, and I hope that we can just continue this and keep this thing going.”
Klieman also rushed to Howard’s defense following the sluggish performance, saying everyone on the offense needs to pick up their game while Thompson is out, not just the backup quarterback.
In his mind, a closer examination of Saturday’s game showed that Howard played better than it may have appeared.
“He didn’t play tremendously well on Saturday for what our standards are for Will and what Will’s standards are for himself,” Klieman said. “Some of that was we weren’t great in protection one time when he lost the ball. We missed a couple of assignments in some routes where I think the ball was put in the right spot, but we ran the wrong route. Sometimes you see it from above and you think, ‘Boy, what the heck is wrong with the quarterback?’
“When he’s expecting a route to be open in a certain spot and that kid runs the wrong route, then you hold on to it a little bit too long. He’s got to make some better decisions when he does have to hold on to it too long, but I look forward to seeing Will have a full week of practice and play the way that he knows he’s capable of.”
Klieman also pointed out that K-State spent the entire third quarter playing against a strong wind, which would have made it difficult to throw the ball even with Thompson in the game.
With a few changes, the Wildcats think the offense can keep scoring with Howard.
“We’re in great hands and we’re going to get the job done,” Weber said. “We’re going to keep fighting. Nothing changes this week. We have all the confidence in the world in Will.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2021 at 12:34 PM.