Will Howard has unlocked the final piece of Ohio State’s offensive puzzle just in time

The deep ball has become a polarizing conversation for Ohio State this season. The stats even before last weekend suggested Howard was among the nation’s best at completing those passes. The eye test showed that the Buckeyes left points on the board because he was inconsistent.

Not every missed opportunity is his fault. Jeremiah Smith has had a few freshman moments that contributed to some of those incompletions, including one that led to Howard’s first interception as a Buckeye. Others have been on Howard, such as misses against Carnell Tate that were off target or undersized.

“Sometimes I try to get a little too cute with it and try to place it,” Howard said. “If I hit them, I just let them rip. That’s the most important thing for me: not trying to place the ball and just let these guys run under it, because we have incredible team speed. If I get my feet moving and don’t let them die, as long as they’re active and alive there and I just let it rip and let them run under it, then we’ll have success.

Despite these loud misses, he still came into OSU’s final road game ranked 10th nationally in terms of deep ball efficiency, which Pro Football Focus defines as any throw of more than 20 yards.

But those efficient numbers were also a small sample size. That’s why the Northwestern game was so important.

“A big part of it is footwork,” OSU coach Ryan Day said. “It means you can time your footwork with the route. That’s something we’ll continue to work on, together with Will.

“He threw very good balls across the field and sometimes he was a little late with his feet. We continue to work on that. If his feet are in the right position, he throws a good ball.”

Howard ranks second nationally in deep ball efficiency with a Pro Football Focus grade of 95.8, second only to Florida’s DJ Lagway. Other notable names in the top 10 include Indiana’s Kurtis Rourke (94.9), who plays against the Buckeyes on Saturday, at No. 7; and Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (94.7), who may see the Buckeyes in the Dec. 7 Big Ten championship game at No. 8.

Howard completed 50% of his 30 attempts – what most college coaches consider a quality percentage – for 533 yards and four touchdowns.

At that depth you can also find 13 of his 17 “big throws,” which are passes with excellent ball location and timing, typically thrown further downfield and/or into a tighter window. And only one of his nine “turnover-worthy plays,” which are passes with a high percentage of interceptions, or plays that reflect an inability to take care of the football, such as fumbles.

“For me, I just have to keep repeating that and doing that and seeing that in practice,” Howard said. “We’re getting better at it, I have to be better at it overall for those guys because we have some things on the field that we can accomplish throughout the season.”

The Northwestern game was about opportunity. Howard got to show off his arm, and the result was a career-high five big time throws. It unlocked the only part of Ohio State’s offense that still had questions. Just in time for him to enter games where that throw and his ability to beat the opposing quarterback could decide a win or loss.

“As he gets more and more comfortable with what we do, you’re starting to see him play at a really high level,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “He is doing very well, but there is still room for improvement and he knows it. If we can finally get it all done, what we will do will be really impressive.”