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Steelers rookie Will Howard wants to bring back a quarterback characteristic that has been missing since Ben Roethlisberger

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 20, 2025 4:19 PM ET

The more you hear from Will Howard , the more you see why the Pittsburgh Steelers were so happy to select him in the sixth round.

His love for the city of Pittsburgh and his desire to be a Steelers quarterback go back to his childhood.

And if it's up to him, he's going to bring back a quarterback trait that the team hasn't had since Ben Roethlisberger...

Will Howard to bring grit to Pittsburgh's quarterback position

"They need like a gritty guy. You know, growing up, for me, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers, it was Big Ben, Howard told Kay Adams of the Up and Adams Show. And Big Ben, he was that guy. He was Pittsburgh. He was the Steel City, the blue collar, the gritty guy. You know? And I want to be that too. I wanna bring that edge, that energy. And I think I did a pretty good job of it at Ohio State and I like to kind of pride myself on that. And I'm gonna try and bring it to the Steel City."

I can't think of a better adjective to describe Will Howard than gritty. You're talking about a player who wanted to play for Penn State out of high school but was never offered.

Who sat behind Skylar Thompson at Kansas State for two years before exploding onto the scene in his lone year with the Wildcats before entering the transfer portal, where he was again denied by Penn State and the team he beat in the national championship.

A quarterback who took over for one of the biggest brands in sports via the Ohio State Buckeyes, and had many questioning his readiness, given an early pick-six against Penn State and a bad decision in the regular season against Oregon.

A signal caller, who failed to do the most important thing at Ohio State: beat Michigan.

Yet through all of that, it was Will Howard who lead the team to their first national championship in a decade. Who sat there during the NFL Draft, watching himself fall to the sixth round and counting the names that went in front of him.

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He's the player who embodies the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The kind of guy where its not about him, but his teammates. The leader who takes accountability and comes back even better. Who will play through pain and do everything he can to earn the job, every day.

So if anyone is going to bring grit back to the quarterback position in Pittsburgh, it's Will Howard.