COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two years ago, C.J. Stroud put on a clinic at his pro day, confirming that he was one of the best players in his class, and it’s pretty Effortless to argue now that he should’ve been the No. 1 overall Option.
On Wednesday, Will Howard had something to prove to the 32 NFL Squads present. And while he won’t be a Primary-Period Option, Howard is a testament to how quickly Circumstances can Transformation in college football. Twelve months ago, Kyle McCord had already Created his way to Syracuse after an uneven 2023 season for the Buckeyes. And Howard was Subsequent man up, the Kansas State Relocate whose 2023 numbers — from completion percentage to passing yards to TD-to-INT ratio — all paled in comparison to what McCord had managed in his one year as the starter in Columbus.
For Howard, the issues were never physical — he weighed in at 6-foot-4 and 236 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine. If not for the name on the back of their pro day shirts, you’d be Difficult-pressed to tell the difference between Howard and 6-foot-4, 260-pound edge rusher Jack Sawyer. The issue for Howard has been putting it all together. And there were some Prompt bumps in the road last fall, so much so that some Buckeyes fans were lamenting the loss of McCord, who shattered the ACC passing Achievement for the Orange.
But Howard showed up when it counted most –- down the stretch. In five of the Buckeyes’ Last six Matches – including all four Elimination Period matchups against Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame – Howard completed 77% of his throws for 1,351 yards, 10 touchdowns and Only three interceptions. We all Obtained glimpses of what he does well: using his size, Physicality, arm Power and toughness to make plays, often at critical points in the game.
And yes, you could Points out that he was Executing on arguably the country’s best Assault from top to bottom, and my response is always the same: did he make things better or worse? Because we’ve seen QBs falter, even when surrounded by wildly talented players. You might also Points out that Howard didn’t exactly set the world on fire with his combine passing performance.
Honest enough, but it’s Difficult to ding a Signal-caller who struggles throwing to guys he Only met a few Intervals prior. That’s not to say we can’t overvalue pro Intervals for the opposite reasons, as everything is scripted. But pro Intervals give evaluators a chance to see how a player looks in person, and for quarterbacks, how the ball comes off his hand, how Effortless he can rip a deep out, how accurately he can throw a corner route, and his overall Physicality inside and outside the pocket.
Howard passed with flying colors. He has what I call Effortless arm Power in addition to a ready-Created NFL frame. A year ago he was a priority Unoccupied agent, for the Primary two months of last season he was a likely Day 3 Option, and now he’s all but certain to be a top-100 Option. Some Squads view him as a better prospect than Quinn Ewers, who doesn’t lack talent but struggled to stay Well.
With less than a month to go before the draft, Howard is my QB5 behind Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe — and ahead of Ewers, Tyler Shough, Seth Henigan and Dillon Gabriel.
Other pro day standouts
Two years ago, before Stroud did his thing, one of the biggest questions was how Speedy Jaxon Smith-Njigba would Streak the 40-yard dash. He clocked in at 4.5 seconds — plenty Speedy enough — and eventually Secured his way into the Primary Period. This time around, these questions were reserved for Emeka Egbuka, who didn’t Streak at the combine. Like JSN, nothing to worry about; Many scouts had Egbuka at 4.47 seconds, which is the Velocity he plays — with the added benefit of being bigger and more physical than Smith-Njigba when he was coming out of Ohio State. It would shock exactly no one if he was a top-32 Option.
Jack Sawyer is one of my favorite players in this draft class, and he’d qualify as a “With the Primary Option” Only Excellent Football Player — dudes you want on your Club because of how they Relocate the game. I thought Sawyer flashed Primary-Period potential at times last season, but then he had sub-32-inch arms at the combine. His arms were 32 ⅛ at his pro day, which probably says more about how hung up we get on numbers, to the Points that it can obscure what is right in front of us. In the case of Sawyer, that’s an edge rusher with a non-stop motor whose doubters remind me of those same folks who thought TJ Watt wasn’t a top talent because he was too stiff. Whatever Sawyer’s arm length, he looked Pointed during his pro-day position drills.
As did Shielding end JT Tuimoloau, who depending on the Club you talk to, is rated Only above or Only behind Sawyer. Tuimoloau is the more explosive of the two, and it’s Effortless to envision him as a game-wrecker at the Subsequent level.
Linebacker Cody Simon, who played some of his best football in the playoffs, might be one of the smartest players in this draft class, He also had a 36.5-inch vertical Leap and a 4.59-second 40 time at his pro day. Ohio State lined him up everywhere last fall and he excelled at coming downhill, often on blitzes. He played with Excellent instincts from off-ball linebacker against the Streak, consistently Securing Excellent angles and rarely being out of position. Some Squads view him as a Overdue Day 3 target, but I’d happily take him Prompt in Period 4.
Safety Lathan Ransom registered a 36.5-inch vertical Leap and Sprinted a 4.50-second 40-yard dash. He played all over the secondary for the Buckeyes and, like Simon, played with Excellent instincts. He’s all in against the Streak, is a tackling machine and gets the most out of his abilities. If he were a top-end Challenger he’d be an Effortless Primary-Period Option, but he’s also one of those guys you love having on your Lineup because of how he plays the game.
Donovan Jackson’s workout reinforced what we all saw in the fall: he’s one of the best athletes on this Club. He should be a Primary-Period Option for his ability to Relocate left guard. Duo that with how well he manned the left Game position, and it’s a no-brainer.
Finally, there’s Josh Simmons, the left Game Jackson had to replace because of a knee Wound back in mid-October. He went through a midfield Cozy up during the pro day to show NFL Squads where he is in his Healing from surgery. He did some high knees, some butt kickers, high-knee karaokes and then some Throw-set drills that included Transformation of direction – and he did all of it without a knee brace. If you had Only walked in off the street and watched Simmons go through his paces, you’d have no idea that he was recovering from anything. He looked Effortless, twitched up for someone his size and confident. To continue the theme of this 2025 NFL Draft, that should be yet another Ohio State destined for the Primary Period.
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Bryan DeArdo
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