EAST LANSING, Mich. — Ohio State quarterback Will Howard went down late in the second quarter of the Buckeyes‘ Big Ten opener at Michigan State on Saturday night before returning in the third quarter.

When the Buckeyes faced a second-and-10 at the Spartans’ 17-yard line with less than a minute left until halftime, Howard took a hard hit by Jordan Turner, a senior linebacker for the Spartans, as he attempted a pass to Carnell Tate.

Will Howard injury update

Trainers spent several minutes tending to Howard after he fell to the grass at Spartan Stadium.

Howard exited the game at that point and was sidelined for the rest of the Buckeyes’ drive. He returned on the Buckeyes’ first possession of the second half.

Who is Will Howard’s backup on the depth chart?

Devin Brown, a redshirt sophomore who competed with Howard to start behind center during the offseason, has been the backup.

It was following the hit when Brown replaced him and found star freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith on third down.

Smith pulled in the pass with his right hand for a 17-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a 24-7 lead in the waning seconds before halftime.

Will Howard stats

Before leaving the game, Howard had completed 17 of 25 passes for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Over his first three starts as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback, a series of nonconference wins, Howard had completed 68.9% of his passes for 795 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will Howard leaves late in second quarter at Michigan State