Rookie quarterback Will Howard experiences learning curve in 1st week of OTAs with Steelers

If, as expected, quarterback Will Howard doesn’t take the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers in his rookie season, it won’t be for lack of preparation.

If the first week of organized team activities is any indication, Howard plans to have a full grasp of the playbook in case he is thrust into action during the 2025 season.

On Thursday, the third and final practice of the week, Howard and running back Kaleb Johnson remained on the practice field at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex long after most other players had headed to the locker room.

“That was us rookies spending time together and walking through the plays we didn’t get today in practice,” said Howard, the team’s sixth-round pick from Ohio State. “Going into the next day’s practice, we try to walk through the plays we are going to have. (That way) we’ve already walked through and seen them.”

That commitment sounded well and good except for the fact the Steelers had a four-day break before they would take the field again for the fourth OTA session.

It didn’t matter to Howard. He wants to make sure he understands the same thing that Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are being asked to absorb.

“I think our rookie class has had a good three days,” Howard said, “but that doesn’t guarantee anything. We’ve got to continue to work.”

Howard paused and laughed.

“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s football, and it’s crazy that football is my job now.”

And Howard realizes that to have a lengthy football career — particularly because he is entering the league as a late-round draft pick — will depend on the extra work he puts in to mastering the quarterback position.

Just a few months earlier, Howard was leading Ohio State to the national championship by winning the inaugural 12-team college football playoffs. Now, he is settling in with the Steelers as the third option on the unofficial depth chart, one that could add veteran Aaron Rodgers before training camp.

The start to his Steelers career — much like in college when he spent his first four seasons at Kansas State — has featured an adjustment period that Howard continues to experience.

“It’s more than the terminology,” Howard said when asked of the differences between Ohio State and the NFL. “It’s the speed of the game, the disguises the defense shows. You look out there and see Minkah (Fitzpatrick) and DeShon (Elliott), and you really don’t know where they are going. It all happens a little faster. It has slowed down over the course of the last three days, but you’ve just got to continue to keep working and get used to this level of football and the speed of football.

“I feel like I played at the highest level of college and I have a good foundation, but nothing compares to this.”

Howard was satisfied with how he finished his initial week of practice. Not so much how he started it.

“I didn’t feel great about my first day coming off the field, but it was a good learning experience for me,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting to be perfect on my first day. I’m not going to be perfect. You’ve got to learn. Especially with me being young, you’ve got to roll with the punches and know that you’re going to make mistakes.

“It’s how you learn from it, come back from it and don’t get affected by that.”

In spring workouts, coach Mike Tomlin likes to rotate players between various units. Which means Howard has spent time taking snaps from starting center Zach Frazier, who is in just his second NFL season.

“This time of the year, it’s good to snap to everybody and get used to everyone,” Frazier said. “It takes some time to build chemistry with each quarterback.”

Howard is willing to put in the time so the next few weeks of offseason workouts are an improvement on his first.

“I wouldn’t say it’s overwhelming. It’s different and a challenge,” he said. “I’ve been presented with a lot of challenges throughout my career, and I feel I’m well prepared for this. I knew it would be a challenge. It’s nothing I didn’t expect. Everything is a challenge, and everything is a job now. You’re fighting for a job. Everything gets a little more serious. It’s cool to be doing this for a living. I still have to pinch myself every day.”