Columbus, Ohio – two years ago, CJ Stoud put a clinic on his professional day, confirming that he was one of the best players in his class, and it is quite easy to argue now that he should have been the general selection number 1.
On Wednesday, Will Howard had something to demonstrate to the 32 NFL teams present. And although it will not be a first round selection, Howard is a testimony of how quickly fortunes can change in university football. Twelve months ago, Kyle McCord had already arrived in Syracuse after an unequal 2023 season for buckey. And Howard was the next man, the transfer of the state of Kansas whose 2023 numbers, from the percentage of completion to the approved yards, the TD-Int relationship, all pale compared to what McCord had achieved in his year as a starter in Columbus.
For Howard, the problems were never physical: it weighed 6 feet 4 and 236 pounds in the NFL exploration combination. If it weren’t for the name in the back of their Pro Day shirts, it would be difficult to notice the difference between Howard and Jack Sawyer of 6 -foot 4 inches and 260 pounds. Howard’s problem has been doing everything together. And there were some early potholes along the way last fall, so much that some Buckeye fans lamented the loss of McCord, who destroyed the ACO pass record for the orange.
But Howard appeared when he had more in the section. In five of the last six buckey games, including the four playoffs clashes against Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame, Howard completed 77% of their releases for 1,351 yards, 10 Touchdowns and only three interceptions. We all saw what does well: use its size, athletics, arm strength and hardness to make plays, often at critical points of the game.
And yes, you could point out that I was playing in the best offensive in the country from top to bottom, and my answer is always the same: did things improve or worse? Because we have seen QBS hesitate, even when they were surrounded by tremendously talented players. You can also point out that Howard He did not set fire exactly with his passage of pass combination.
Quite fair, but it is difficult to get out of a field marshal who fights the boys who just met a few days before. That does not mean that we cannot overvalue the professional days for the opposite reasons, such as all It is written. But the professional days give the evaluators the opportunity to see how a player looks like in person, and for the quarterbacks, how the ball comes out of his hand, how easy a deep can start, how exactly he can throw a route of the corner and his general athletics inside and out of the pocket.
Howard spent great success. He has what I call an easy arm strength, in addition to an NFL frame ready to use. A year ago he was a free priority agent, during the first two months of last season was a probable selection of day 3, and now he is sure to be a selection of the best 100. Some teams see it as a better perspective that Quinn Ewers, who does not lack talent but struggled to stay healthy.
With less than a month to go before the draft, Howard is my QB5 behind Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe, and ahead of Ewers, Tyler Shough, Seth Henigan and Dillon Gabriel.
Other Professional Day
Two years ago, before Stoud did his own, one of the most important questions was how quickly Jaxon Smith-Njigba would run the 40-yard race. It was recorded in 4.5 seconds, quite fast, and finally found its way in the first round. This time, these questions were reserved for Emeka Egbukathat did not run in the harvester. Like JSN, nothing to worry about; Several explorers had Egbuka 4.47 seconds, which is the speed he plays, with the additional benefit of being larger and more physical than Smith-Njigba when he left the state of Ohio. I would not surprise anyone if it were a Top-32 selection.
Jack Sawyer It is one of my favorite players in this Draft class, and would qualify as a “with the first team” only a good soccer player, guys you want in your team for how they play the game. I thought Sawyer showed the first round potential at the time last season, but then had arms of less than 32 inches in the harvester. His arms were 32 ⅛ on his professional day, which probably says more about how hanging we put ourselves in the numbers, to the point that he can obscure what is right in front of us. In the case of Sawyer, that is an advantage corridor with an non -stop engine whose skeptics remind me of those same people who thought TJ Watt was not a superior talent because it was too rigid. Whatever Sawyer’s arm length, it seemed acute during his position exercises to the pro-dome.
Like the defensive wing JT TUIMOLOUWho depending on the team with which you talk, is classified just above or just behind Sawyer. Timolou is the most explosive of the two, and it is easy to imagine it as a game container at the next level.
Supporter Cody SimonThat he played some of his best football in the playoffs, he could be one of the smartest players in this Draft class, he also had a vertical jump of 36.5 inches and 40 seconds of 4.59 seconds in his professional day. The state of Ohio aligned him everywhere the past fall and stood out when he came downhill, often in bombing. He played with great instincts from the supporter out of the ball against the race, consistently taking good angles and was rarely out of position. Some teams see it as an objective of day 3, but happily it would take it early in Round 4.
Security Lathan rescue He recorded a vertical jump of 36.5 inches and made a 40 -yard board of 4.50 seconds. He played throughout the high school for Buckeyes and, like Simon, played with great instincts. Everything is against the race, it is a tacle machine and gets the most of its skills. If it were a high -end athlete, it would be an easy first round selection, but it is also one of those guys that you love on your list due to how the game plays.
Donovan Jackson’s Training reinforced what we all saw in autumn: it is one of the best athletes of this team. It should be a first round selection for your ability to play the left guard. Combine that with how well the position of the left Tackle manned, and it is obvious.
Finally, there are Josh SimmonsThe left Tackle Jackson had to replace due to a knee injury in mid -October. He went through a warm -up in the center of the field during the professional day to show the NFL teams where he is in their rehabilitation of surgery. He made some high knees, some kickers, high knee karaokes and then some pass set exercises that included a change of direction, and did everything without a knee. If you had left the street and saw Simmons go through his steps, you would have no idea that he was recovering from anything. He looked soft, stirred for someone of his size and trusts. To continue with the theme of this NFL 2025 draft, that should be another state of Ohio for the first round.
2025 Rumors of NFL Draft: Here are the three players of the state of Ohio with which the steelers gathered before their professional day
Bryan Deardo
