A two-year starter at Ohio State and captain for the national champions in 2024, linebacker Jack Sawyer felt like a second-stringer at his own draft party two weeks ago.
After being taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round, Sawyer was anxious to see where teammate Will Howard would land. The wait extended into the sixth round before the Steelers also selected the 6-foot-4, 236-pound quarterback, reuniting him with Sawyer.
Sawyer wasn’t expecting the eruption of noise that followed.
“When Will was called, everyone was huddled around the TV and as soon as they said his name, the party cheered louder for him than they did for me,” Sawyer said, flashing a smile. “We were all laughing about it.”
Like a lot of people, Sawyer didn’t expect Howard’s wait to be so long. Despite leading the Buckeyes to the national title in his lone year in Columbus and doing his best work in the inaugural 12-team college football playoff, Howard was still available on the third day of the draft.
He wasn’t one of the five quarterbacks selected on the first two days. He watched as Shedeur Sanders went to Cleveland in the fifth round and Kyle McCord to Philadelphia earlier in the sixth.
Then, the Steelers selected Howard with the No. 185 overall pick.
“I was surprised he was still there,” Sawyer said. “Will is everything you want in a quarterback. I’m biased because I won a national championship with him, but he was confident. He presents himself well, he handles himself well.
“He goes about preparation really hard — like I haven’t seen from anyone else. Will is a great guy, a good leader, and I think he’s going to have a good career.”
That remains to be seen. For every breakout star like Tom Brady or unexpected starter like Brock Purdy, dozens of late-round drafted quarterbacks never see the field or have brief NFL careers.
For his part, Howard isn’t looking that far ahead, content to be in a group that includes Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson and, potentially, Aaron Rodgers at some point this spring or summer.
Howard has met Rudolph at voluntary offseason workouts, and he knows Thompson from the two years they spent together at Kansas State.
“I want to come in here and learn and get better. That’s how I’m treating this,” Howard said during the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend. “Who knows what happens? I’m not worrying about that. I understand I’m a rookie, and I don’t know what I don’t know. Whoever is in the room … I’m blessed to be a part of it.”
The Steelers typically keep three quarterbacks on the roster after the preseason concludes. No matter how it shakes off with Rudolph and/or Rodgers or perhaps another veteran addition, Howard figures to begin the year third in the pecking order. That’s the way it works for late-round draft pick — provided he makes the 53-man roster at all.
“To be in the NFL, you’re always fighting for a job no matter what,” Howard said. “If you’re not on your game one day, you can be gone.”
Coach Mike Tomlin didn’t let either quarterback attending rookie minicamp — former New Hampshire and Mt. Lebanon passer Seth Morgan is attending on a tryout — throw a pass during team portions of practice. He’s keeping the approach simple for the rookie quarterbacks.
“Huddle command and communication, the ability to regurgitate new information,” Tomlin said of his expectations. “By new information, I mean information that is new to them. I don’t want to underscore how difficult it is to receive verbiage from a play caller and have to regurgitate it to 10 others who are waiting for it.
“They are elementary things, but important things nonetheless. Giving and receiving information is a central component of leadership at that position.”
Howard, 23, had ample chances to lead in college, starting 27 games in four years at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State for his final season of eligibility. He completed 73% of his passes for the season, hiking that percentage to 75 in the playoffs.
Howard was named the national championship offensive MVP after passing for 231 yards and two touchdowns in the title win against Notre Dame. His stock, though, took a hit with a poor showing at the NFL Combine when Howard struggled to connect on his throws.
That showing may have hurt his draft stock, but it was another obstacle that Howard was prepared to overcome.
“The things I went through and learned how to push through adversity, how to come back from bad things, I learned so much and that gave me a pretty hard head,” Howard said. “I’ve got a chip on my shoulder, and I like to carry that with me.”
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Howard was raised in Downington and still resides there with his family. He made the commute a week after the NFL Draft to meet up with Sawyer. They attended a Pirates game and took a tour of the Strip District.
“I’m excited as hell to be here,” Howard said. “It’s my home state. I was home (Thursday) and drove up here. It’s four hours. My family can get here to see me.”
That made the extended wait on draft weekend worth it for Howard. He had a mutual connection with quarterbacks coach Tom Arth and knew Thompson was on the roster.
“Everything kind of fell into place,” Howard said. “As the draft went on, you never know where you’re going to end up, but you keep a little spot in your heart for where you really want to go. I had a little soft spot for Pittsburgh. I was hoping in my heart that they would pick me.”
So was Sawyer — once he learned in the fourth round that he was drafted by the Steelers.
“It’s always good to have someone you know previously coming into a new place,” he said. “It’s definitely made the transition smoother so far.”