Ohio State Makes Will Howard Announcement Ahead of NFL Draft

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dave Holcomb | Last updated Mar 24, 2025 12:50 PM ET

The next step of the NFL draft process for quarterback Will Howard will be the Ohio State Buckeyes Pro Day. How Howard performs could greatly impact his draft stock on the 2025 big board.

So it's not surprising that Howard will throw passes to two wide receivers he knows well.

Eleven Warriors's Chase Brown reported on Monday that Ohio State head coach Ryan Day expects Buckeyes receivers Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss to run routes for Howard.

Tate was Ohio State's third leading receiver during the 2024 campaign. Tate posted 52 catches for 733 yards with four touchdowns.

Inniss registered 14 receptions for 176 yards with one score.

Ohio State will host the program's Pro Day on Wednesday, March 26.

Ryan Day expects Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss to run routes and catch passes from Will Howard at Ohio State's pro day.
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) March 24, 2025

The NFL draft big board at ESPN has Howard ranked as the sixth-best quarterback in the 2025 class. ESPN also has Howard rated No. 81 overall, which would make him a third-round pick.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein has compared Howard to former Jacksonville Jaguars signal-caller Blake Bortles.

"Howard brings outstanding size and toughness to the table," Zierlein wrote. "He showed good improvement over the last three seasons.

"Howard is big, tough and accurate but benefited from superior talent at the skill positions at Ohio State. Unless he proves he can play chess against NFL defenses, he might not have enough in the tool box to become more than an average backup."

Interestingly, Bortles was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. But Bortles posted just one winning season in his pro career and retired at 30 years old four seasons after he lost his starting job.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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