Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard certainly proved a lot of doubters wrong this season, leading Ohio State to its first national championship in a decade.

Unfortunately, Howard’s stay in Columbus will be brief, as the 23-year-old has run out of eligibility and will now be taking his talents to the NFL.

Howard has never been viewed as a top professional prospect, but he definitely turned some heads with his performance in the College Football Playoff.

He turned heads so vigorously, as a matter of fact, that NFL Draft analyst Colton Edwards has actually gone as far to say that Howard is the best quarterback in this year’s draft class.

This is a rather jarring take, to say the least.

Howard was not even on anyone’s radar going into the season, and even as he progressed through the year, he was considered a late-round draft pick, at best.

Could the Kansas State transfer really have rocketed all the way up into the first round of the draft, and could he actually be the first signal-caller off the board on top of that?

Let’s be honest: it isn’t going to happen. Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders are universally viewed as the two best quarterbacks in this upcoming class, and there are plenty of other signal-callers between those two and Howard, as well.

But one thing is for sure: Howard has definitely improved his draft stock, and it would not be shocking to see him selected in the fourth round or higher this April.

The West Chester, Pa. native threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 73 percent of his passes and punching in seven rushing scores in 2024.