Anyone can make a wrong first judgment about a person. And one person who knows that better than everybody else is former OSU QB Kirk Herbstreit. He’s back in Columbus for the first time this season as part of ESPN’s College GameDay. Making use of this situation, he revisited some of his past opinions about the Buckeyes QB ahead of their matchup against undefeated Indiana.

In a new YouTube episode on ElevenWarriors on November 23, Kirk Herbstreit delivered his raw take on Ohio State and Will Howard. As a Buckeyes alum, the ESPN analyst revealed he watches Ohio State every week. Then he swallowed his pride to reveal, “What stands out to me is Will Howard is much better than I probably anticipated. I watched him his whole career at Kansas State. I knew him very well. I wondered how he’d fit into a Chip Kelly offense and what I’ve seen is just a dynamic playmaker that’s in total command of that offense.”

Will Howard is a 3-star QB in the 2020 class who played his first four seasons at Kansas State. He earned the Honorable Mention Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year in 2023 before entering the transfer portal in November. The 6’4, 237-pounder then joined Chip Kelly’s program on January 4 after his official visit to Columbus. Six months later, he was named the Buckeyes’s starting QB on August 5, which is perhaps one of the best decisions that Ohio State made. 

This season, Will Howard racked up 2,484 yards and 24 touchdowns in 10 games played leading Ohio State to a 9-1 record as they enjoy the No. 2 spot on the AP Poll ranking. Herbstreit added, “I think his leadership is outstanding and you look beyond the Indiana game into the playoff and into trying to win a National Championship. You got to have the right guy at that position and in my opinion, they have that with Will Howard.” Their road to the Big Ten Championship game and beyond begins with the outcome of their upcoming game against underdog Indiana. What are the odds?

Can Will Howard earn Ohio State a Big Ten Championship spot?

Saturday’s Big Ten clash between 9-1 Ohio State and 10-0 Indiana is one of the most anticipated college football games of the season. Why? This game will knock one of them out of the conference title and the College Football Playoff picture. If they win against Curt Cignetti’s Hoosiers, Ohio State will earn a spot in the Big Ten Championship game against No. 1 Oregon who is responsible for their sole defeat of the season.

As per general predictions, OSU holds the edge in this game as a 10.5-point favorite over Indiana. You might also want to know that the Hoosiers have only 12 wins out of 97 games played against the Buckeyes. But can Indiana deliver an upset to relive that history from October 1988 when they last defeated Ohio State? It’s going to be the game of the month!