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Will Howard and Gruden

I like this kid! He’s gotten better every year since he started first at Kansas State.
He’s got the size, strong enough arm, mobile enough, leadership abilities, makes a lot of the throws, won a national championship.
What else did he need to do but yet wasn’t good enough to be at least a second round pick. Interesting!
I like him and really like his attitude and maturity and intelligence. Very coachable and hopefully he can learn from Rodgers if he signs here.
 
steelhurt said:
What else did he need to do but yet wasn’t good enough to be at least a second round pick. Interesting!
Click to expand...

Teams feel he's not as accurate as his numbers at Ohio State suggest. Combine that with relatively average arm strength and you get a sixth round pick.

******** the bed in the passing drills at the combine didn't help him in that regard either.

I agree there is a lot to like with him, but typically QBs that have questions about their accuracy entering the NFL don't tend to improve enough in that area to become a consistent starter in the league.

Josh Allen and Dak Prescott are probably the most obvious exceptions, but they had a lot stronger arms to aid them in their development than Howard does.
 
Howard may have a lot going against him, but wouldn’t it be kewl beans if he succeeded,

The QB if a Nation Championship Team has to be doing some things right.


Salute the nation
 
Punxsutawney said:
Teams feel he's not as accurate as his numbers at Ohio State suggest. Combine that with relatively average arm strength and you get a sixth round pick.

******** the bed in the passing drills at the combine didn't help him in that regard either.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I watched him against Oregon and most of the game vs. Notre Dame and was surprised he had footwork and accuracy issues at the combine. No such issues in the playoffs.

Punxsutawney said:
I agree there is a lot to like with him, but typically QBs that have questions about their accuracy entering the NFL don't tend to improve enough in that area to become a consistent starter in the league.

Josh Allen and Dak Prescott are probably the most obvious exceptions, but they had a lot stronger arms to aid them in their development than Howard does.
Click to expand...

Truth. Allen has a cannon, and Prescott definitely plus arm strength. The one good point about Howard's accuracy is that his completion percentage improved every season he was in college, finishing with 73% his last year at Ohio State and 75% in the playoffs. He reportedly has good-not-great arm strength and the admittedly limited samples I viewed seem to support that.
 
Drink IRON City said:
Howard may have a lot going against him, but wouldn’t it be kewl beans if he succeeded,

The QB if a Nation Championship Team has to be doing some things right.


Salute the nation
Click to expand...

A lot of QBs who won national championships or Heisman trophies lacked the talent to succeed in the NFL.

Ken Dorsey and Jason White had noodle arms. Tim Tebow had arm strength and about all the physical and intangible attributes a team could want, but the mechanics of a shotput thrower.

I think Howard has more passing talent than those guys, but he definitely has his own deficiencies to overcome.
 
Steeltime said:
Agreed. I watched him against Oregon and most of the game vs. Notre Dame and was surprised he had footwork and accuracy issues at the combine. No such issues in the playoffs.
Click to expand...

He was a completely different QB in the college playoffs compared to much of the season. It's why his throwing at the combine was as disappointing as it was.

Steeltime said:
Truth. Allen has a cannon, and Prescott definitely plus arm strength. The one good point about Howard's accuracy is that his completion percentage improved every season he was in college, finishing with 73% his last year at Ohio State and 75% in the playoffs. He reportedly has good-not-great arm strength and the admittedly limited samples I viewed seem to support that.
Click to expand...

His progression throughout his college career is definitely a reason for optimism.

The other thing he has going for him is his size. It's conceivable he could increase his arm strength if he's able to add some muscle and continue to improve his throwing mechanics.

There's enough there to perhaps be developed into more than a backup, but I'm pretty skeptical of it being done under Tomlin.
 
I wonder if some of his problems at the combine were the fact that he was busy playing football a lot longer than most other guys. Other guys had a big head start on t-shirts and shorts drills.

Idk...he won the national title. I hope he had some fun enjoying it for a little too afterward.

Maybe he is what the combine drills showed. I wouldn't write him off though yet because of it.
 
I wonder if Sullivan being gone today has anything to do with coaching up Howard and possibly a 1st round pick next season. They need a very good QB coach.
 
Look, I like the kid, but lets not get too hyped about him just yet... he has a lot of flags that are gonna need worked out that were covered up by the overall talent level at Ohio State.

His arm strength is fine. The small hand size thing is perpetually overrated to begin with, the Mechanics issues can all be fixed. These were all silly reasons his stock took a dip..

However, the questions are about him sitting on his primary wr too long and his instincts could be a sticking point to him starting... it took Landry Jones like 3 years to get past things like that...

As a sixth round pick... he was a good get, but temper the expectations a bit ...
 
Drink IRON City said:
Howard may have a lot going against him, but wouldn’t it be kewl beans if he succeeded,

The QB if a Nation Championship Team has to be doing some things right.


Salute the nation
Click to expand...
Agreed… with alot of help from his friends..

Judkins
Henderson
J. Smith
Egbuka
Tate
Experienced talented oline..
Josh Simmons
Donovan Jackson
Etc…

This is why I had McCord rated higher than Howard.
But time will tell..
Hope the kid kills it and pushes Mason hard..
 
Only part way through the video but you got to like Howard and what they ran at Ohio State. Heck, he had more authority at the line than Fields and Wilson did for the Steelers. He said he was throwing go routes until a team stopped it. Dude has a good head on his shoulders.
 
It's a good watch. I especially like where Gruden hears he is like an assistant coach with teammates. Sometimes a young QB will relate better to a fellow player, much the same as Ben seemed to always lean on Batch when he was his backup. That could be the niche he carves out, and that could be a valuable role for him.
 
I wasn't really a Howard fan, I would rather have had Shough, but that wasn't an option. Of the options on the board at the time, he would have been my pick too. You can't coach size and heart, and after watching this, I see that he has the heart. When he got injured and chose to help the team as an assistant tells me everything I need to know right there. As for all the drills in shorts and shirts, they mean nothing when the pads go on. I am a wait and see type of guy and hope to see him do well. Some people are just not good at "tests" but shine when the pressure is on. I remember another QB that was questionable until the pressure was turned on, Terry Bradshaw. I would be perfectly happy to see this kid settle in as the Steeler's #3 all time QB.
 
Punxsutawney said:
Teams feel he's not as accurate as his numbers at Ohio State suggest.

******** the bed in the passing drills at the combine didn't help him in that regard either.
Click to expand...
Keep hearing this crap & it is freakin' hilarious...People just gonna "DISREGARD" his National Championship run? WTF ?

But these same won't "DISREGARD" a practice passing drill...

Great logic here...So how you perform in practice is more important than leading your team to a National Championship Title run ?

"Practice ? Practice? We're talkin' bout practice man, practice man, we talkin 'bout practice"
- Allen Iverson NBA Basketball Legend
 
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madinsomniac said:
Look, I like the kid, but lets not get too hyped about him just yet... he has a lot of flags that are gonna need worked out that were covered up by the overall talent level at Ohio State.

His arm strength is fine. The small hand size thing is perpetually overrated to begin with, the Mechanics issues can all be fixed. These were all silly reasons his stock took a dip..

However, the questions are about him sitting on his primary wr too long and his instincts could be a sticking point to him starting... it took Landry Jones like 3 years to get past things like that...

As a sixth round pick... he was a good get, but temper the expectations a bit ...
Click to expand...

I don't see anybody were with expectatons, dad. I just see people cheering for the kid. I bet you're a blast to hang out with.
 
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