COLUMBUS — At the halfway point of its preseason camp schedule, Ohio State has a starting quarterback for the 2024 season.

Speaking with the media on Thursday following the 13th of 25 practices this month, head coach Ryan Day named Will Howard the leader of the Buckeyes’ offense. Howard, who transferred to Ohio State from Kansas State in January after starting 28 games for the Wildcats across four seasons, had mixed results in spring practice but began to surge past the competition in camp after demonstrating a better understanding of the offense.

“When you take the aggregate of all the numbers, Will graded out significantly ahead of the other guys in the team (practice period) work,” Day said of the decision.

Day credited Howard’s offseason work following spring practice, which included getting in better shape and getting a better grasp of the offense, for putting him in a position to assert himself once camp got underway.

“Will has really taken command of the offense, I believe,” Day said. “You feel him in the huddle. You feel his experience. He did a really good job, as we’ve talked about, of changing his body in the offseason, so he’s become a threat with both his legs and with his arm. And the more he understands what he’s doing out there, and when he does, he’s really executing very well.”

“I think Will’s earned it,” offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly said. “We grade everything, and obviously he graded out the highest at the position. There’s a lot of data-driven information with that in terms of the decisions he makes on the field and running the offense. And it’s just as critical to be that guy in the run game as it is the pass game in terms of what we ask the quarterback to do here. I think he’s worked extremely hard in the offseason. From the end of spring ball on April 13 to now, he’s made great strides.”

Kelly said Howard was given a “plan to work on” following spring practice, and Howard “took it and ran with it.”

“Where he is now is pretty impressive,” Kelly said. “And the one thing you knew he has is he has the experience. He’s been in a huddle in a lot of games and been in a huddle in big games, so this isn’t new to him. Columbus is new to him, but playing college football isn’t new to him. I think that experience started to shine through during camp, and I’m excited to see where he goes with this.”

Howard’s play in practice has also gotten the attention of the coach tasked with slowing him down. While Howard is known for bringing a running element to the position, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles spoke highly of Howard’s arm talent.

“He’s making all the throws,” Knowles said of Howard. “He stands in the pocket, has great vision and arm strength. We have great receivers, and he’s putting the ball in places only the receivers can catch it. To me, it’s not just the arm strength. He’s making the pinpoint passes, too.”

Devin Brown, who is entering his third year in the program, is currently slated to be the backup according to Day, although he noted there is still a scrimmage looming on Saturday that will factor heavily in how the depth chart behind Howard ultimately materializes.

“Devin has shown the ability to do just about everything we ask him to do,” Day said. “It’s the consistency part and taking care of the football part that he just has to make sure he does a great job of going forward. If he can do that, he can play and be a contributor for us.”

Asked if true freshman and Alabama transfer Julian Sayin is still in the running to win the backup job behind Howard, Day said, “Yeah, for sure. He is.”

“He has a tremendous ability to locate the football,” Day said of Sayin. “The ball comes out quickly, his mind moves quickly. You guys have all seen the talent. The thing for Julian is getting more and more reps. We say that when you get out there, you’re either remembering what you’re doing or you’re learning what you’re doing. For him, he’s still learning out there and trying to figure it out. It’s a little bit different than where he came from in terms of the jump from high school to college, but you see the talent.”

Day added, “The faster he learns, the faster he’s going to get on the field. He’s going to play a lot of football at Ohio State, and when he gets on the field is going to be up to him.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on X @DillonDavis56.