Howard grew up in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, and attended Downingtown West High School.[1][2] He was named the Maxwell Football Club Pennsylvania Player of the Year after passing for 2,543 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior.[3] Howard finished his high school career with 5,308 passing yards and 48 touchdown passes while also rushing for 512 yards and 21 touchdowns.[4] He also was a two-time All-Area selection in basketball and scored over 1,000 points in his varsity career.[5]
Howard was rated a three-star recruit and received more than 20 total scholarship offers.[1] He committed to play college football at Kansas State after considering offers from Maryland, Minnesota, Rutgers, and Kansas.[6]
College career
Kansas State
Howard joined the Kansas State Wildcats as an early enrollee in January 2020.[7] He began his freshman season as the backup to starting quarterback Skylar Thompson and started the final seven games after Thompson suffered a serious injury.[8][9] Howard finished the season with 90 completions on 168 pass attempts for 1,178 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions and rushed for 364 yards and three touchdowns.[10] He served as Thompson's backup again as a sophomore after competing for the starting job in practice.[11] Howard played in six games with three starts.
As a junior, Howard began spring practice as the Wildcats first-string quarterback.[12] Transfer Adrian Martinez was ultimately named the starter going into the 2022 and he initially intended to redshirt the season.[13][14] Howard came in relief of Martinez after he suffered an injury against TCU and led the Wildcats on four straight touchdown drives and started the following game against Oklahoma State.[15] Howard completed 19 of 27 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns in relief of Martinez after he suffered another injury against Baylor.[16] He became Kansas State's starting quarterback a second time after it was revealed Martinez's injury was serious.[17][18] Howard finished the season with 1,633 passing yards and 14 touchdowns and four interceptions in seven games played.[19]
After his junior season, Howard entered the transfer portal on November 27, 2023.[20]
Howard with Ohio State in 2024
Ohio State
On January 4, 2024, Howard committed to Ohio State for his senior season following an official visit to Columbus.[21] On August 5, 2024, he was named the starter.[22] On January 20, 2025, Howard led Ohio State to a victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship, being named Offensive MVP.
