Quarterback Will Howard, who helped lead Ohio State to a national championship less than two months ago, found himself at the center of an unexpected controversy over the weekend after a difficult outing at the NFL Scouting Combine. Instead of making headlines for an impressive showcase, Howard went viral for struggling during his throwing drills in front of NFL scouts.
Howard, projected to be a mid-round draft pick in April, took the field in Indianapolis to demonstrate his passing ability. However, as a widely circulated video on X (formerly Twitter) revealed, he missed his intended targets on at least six throws—despite facing no defensive pressure in the drills.
Fans quickly seized upon the footage, with many reacting harshly to what they perceived as an underwhelming performance.
“Will Howard is having an all-time horrible combine performance,” one user wrote.
“Genuinely one of the worst QBs to win a natty,” another added.
“It’s almost as if the group of talented WRs around him made a mid-QB look good,” a third chimed in.
A fourth fan summed up the skepticism surrounding Howard: “We all saw this coming.”
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Despite the widespread criticism, some fans and analysts defended Howard, pointing out the difficulty of throwing to unfamiliar receivers—a challenge that fellow quarterback prospect Shedeur Sanders also addressed publicly.
“I don’t understand y’all hating on [Will Howard],” Sanders wrote on X, tagging the former Kansas State and Ohio State quarterback. “He just won a natty. It’s hard to throw to WRs that you don’t know, everyone runs routes different!”
Interestingly, the official NFL X account offered a much more favorable take on Howard’s performance, describing his combine as a “strong job interview.” Instead of showcasing the viral clips of his missed throws, the NFL’s social media team highlighted several of Howard’s successful completions, presenting a more positive perspective.
Howard, 23, had an impressive final college season at Ohio State, completing 73 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns. However, critics argue that his success was largely due to the elite talent surrounding him in Columbus, raising questions about his ability to perform at the next level.
Regardless of the mixed reactions, Howard remains on track to hear his name called at some point during the 2025 NFL Draft, which begins on April 24. Whether his combine performance will significantly impact his draft stock remains to be seen, but the debate over his true potential is likely to continue leading up to draft day.
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