PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It was just a few days ago that rookie Will Howard came off of the Reserve/Injured list. As the third quarterback he said what a blessing it was for him to practice again.
“It’s not necessarily that I’m coming up to play, but it’s more for my growth and development,” Howard said.
An Aaron Rodgers injury later and now Howard is a snap away from making his NFL debut.
He has only practiced for a couple of weeks, admitting he was pretty rusty to start. Howard spent that time ramping up, saying he maximized any opportunity he got, even if it was scout team.
“It’s just good to be able to see real live reps, especially going against our defense, that front and all the different looks they show on the back end,” Howard said. “It’s great for me. I just want to give them a good look so we can have success on the weekend.”
The sixth-round pick said he’s been able to learn from a different perspective. Usually he’s knee-deep into playing, but noticed things as an observer. He’s actually created a word document where he types in every little piece of advice from Rodgers. Most of them are minute details, one of them is reading the ‘mike’ linebacker to get defensive keys, another is working on his pump fakes. He’s trying to bring all of this to his game.
“Wednesday, Thursday, Friday are my games, I’m out there trying to make every rep as competitive and as real as possible,” Howard said. “I’ve done a pretty good job of it so far, but just got to keep going. It’s a day-by-day process. I know Rome isn’t going to be built in a day, but if I get a little bit better every single day, that’s all that matters.”
Howard had a great regular season last year at Ohio State, but then struggled in its biggest rivalry; his first, two interception game in a 13-10 loss to Michigan. It’s what he did following that piqued the Steelers interest. His four playoff games leading the Buckeyes to a national championship
· 24-29, 311 yards, 2 TD, INT in 42-17 win over Tennessee (home)
· 17-26, 319 yards, 3 TD in 41-21 win over Oregon (Rose Bowl)
· 24-33, 289 yards, TD, INT in 28-14 win over Texas (Cotton Bowl)
· 17-21, 231 yards, 2 TD & clinched the game on a fourth and short deep completion in 34-23 win over Notre Dame (Atlanta)
“I feel like I’m getting better every week,” Howard said. “I feel like I’m about back to where I was and want to keep going like this.”
He’s not the guy, but the opportunity is getting closer.