Will Howard may have just been a one-year rental from the transfer portal, but the native of Downingtown, Pa., left a lasting legacy as the quarterback for Ohio State.

Howard, who helped guide the Buckeyes to the national championship in his one season in the Scarlet and Gray, will be tuned into the NFL Draft tonight hoping to hear his name called sometime during rounds two or three. Some recent projections have him not going until Saturday’s fourth or fifth round.

During an interview this week with WBNS-TV (Ch. 10) sports director Dom Tiberi, Ohio State coach Ryan Day took the chance to once again sing Howard’s praises. Day said he thought Howard did a good job showing pro scouts what he can do as a thrower during OSU’s pro day in late March. Howard also had an impressive showing with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden on his pre-draft series featuring quarterbacks.

“The ball really has been coming out of his hands better and better and you can see it,” Day said. “Then, if you watch the Gruden thing, you can tell right away. He’s got a great football IQ, he’s got great positivity, he’s a mature man who is going to walk into an organization and just be a pro on day one.

“You can see it by the way he played, his accuracy and his efficiency in the playoffs. I think the best thing that ever happened to Ohio State was Will Howard. I think the best thing that ever happened to Will Howard was Ohio State. It worked hand-in-hand. And I think now he’s ready to go and jump into an organization, take it and run because he’s going to learn fast and the guys are going to really gravitate to him.”

Day was asked about the prospect that the Cleveland Browns – who have four picks in tonight’s two rounds – could select Howard as a quarterback to develop for the future.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Coach (Kevin) Stefanski and what they do,” Day said. “Yeah, to think that you’d have Joe Burrow in Cincinnati and Will Howard in Cleveland would be something for sure.”

Only two quarterbacks went in the first round of the draft on Thursday night. The Tennessee Titans took Miami’s Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall selection, while Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart went 25th to the New York Giants.

Howard was listed as the No. 5 quarterback prospect and No. 99 prospect overall going into the draft, according to CBSSports.com. Available quarterbacks still available ranked ahead of him include Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (ranked 28th overall) and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe (ranked 94th). A pair of former Buckeyes are listed behind Howard with Texas’ Quinn Ewers at No. 107 overall and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord at No. 108.

Day was an NFL quarterbacks coach working for his friend Chip Kelly with the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. He talked about what he has heard from NFL scouts about Howard’s pro potential.

“Some are saying he could be a second-round pick,” Day said. “It’s been interesting. There are some different quarterbacks in this draft. Everybody has differing opinions and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So, for those who need quarterbacks early on, I think there’s a great chance that he would go. But we’ll just have to see. I know he won’t be on the board very long, I can tell you that.”

Howard spent his senior year with Ohio State in 2024 after playing three seasons at Kansas State. He was a guiding force as the Buckeyes went 14-2 and won the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff national championship.

Howard transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State last January for his senior year. He had one of the best seasons by any OSU quarterback in leading the Buckeyes to the national championship. He was a third-team All-Big Ten pick as he completed an OSU single-season record 73.1 percent of his passes for 4,010 yards with 35 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. It was just the third 4,000-yard season in OSU history, following Dwayne Haskins (4,831 yards in 2018) and C.J. Stroud (4,435 yards in 2021).

Howard was especially strong as the Buckeyes rolled to the CFB Playoff national championship. In those wins over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame (all national top-10 opponents), Howard completed 82 of 109 passes (75 percent) for 1,150 yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

In his 50-game college career (44 starts), Howard threw for 9,731 yards with 83 touchdowns and 35 interceptions.

Stay tuned for more draft coverage tonight.