Will Howard took a ‘surreal’ path to prestigious QB record for Kansas State Wildcats

Whenever Kansas State football fans discuss the best quarterbacks that have played for the Wildcats, they usually talk about some elite passers.

For good reason. The list of excellent quarterbacks who have worn a K-State uniform is long.

Josh Freeman was a first-round pick in the NFL Draft, Collin Klein and Michael Bishop were finalists for the Heisman Trophy, Ell Roberson was a highlight machine, Lynn Dickey, Jake Waters, Steve Grogan and Skylar Thompson are household names in this part of the country ...

We could go on and on.

But we can’t stop until we also mention Will Howard. The veteran passer etched his name into K-State lore during a 59-25 victory over Baylor on Saturday at Bill Snyder Family Stadium when he broke the school record for career touchdown passes with an outstanding day for the Wildcats. He now has 45 touchdown passes in purple, which puts him one ahead of Freeman, who previously held the record.

K-State football coach Chris Klieman thinks Howard may also rank first in school history when it comes to things like “resolve” and “toughness” and “character.”

“That kid has battled through, and he is playing at such a high level right now,” Klieman said. “And I am excited for him. He is having a great season. You know, I have had a lot of conversations with him this week, and I couldn’t be more proud of the guy. He knows how much I love him. He knows how I feel about him. For him to have that record says an awful lot about what kind of player he is.”

Howard is an unlikely quarterback to own a prestigious K-State passing record, considering that he didn’t open a season as the team’s starting quarterback until this year.

During his three previous seasons in Manhattan he came in only when Adrian Martinez and Thompson were injured. Even this year, he had to take a back seat to freshman Avery Johnson for one game as Johnson ran wild against Texas Tech.

The unusual journey that Howard took to this point made the record all the more meaningful. Funny thing is, he didn’t even realize he was approaching the milestone until it was brought to his attention last week.

“This seems surreal, completely,” Howard said. “If you would have told an 18-year old Will Howard, who threw three picks against West Virginia, he would be standing here today talking to you guys, man, I would tell you that’s crazy.”

“I couldn’t be more thankful and I just keep saying blessed. I have got to give all the credit to my guys, because I’m telling you with all this stuff that I’ve been through here and all the stuff that I’ve continued to go through, I really wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for those guys in that locker room and for the guys that fought for me and stuck up for me when things weren’t always good.”

It was clear early on that Howard was going to do something special on Saturday. He lit up the Bears in the first quarter and never stopped leading the Wildcats to the end zone.

Howard completed 19 of 29 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a rushing touchdown.

All of his touchdown throws were impressive. The first was a pass to running back DJ Giddens, who caught the ball in the flats and then rumbled 18 yards for a score. Next, Howard moved around in the pocket until tight end Ben Sinnott came open in the end zone. Howard found him for an easy touchdown. Later, Howard found Christian Moore with a short pass that ended with Moore scoring the first touchdown of his career.

He nearly completed another touchdown pass in the third quarter, but Jadon Jackson was unable to corral a diving catch in the end zone.

Howard played so well that he was able to spend most of the fourth quarter on the sideline watching his teammates put the finishing touchdowns on a blowout victory.

That allowed K-State to honor him in the fourth quarter with an announcement about his record on the video boards. Players and coaches took turns congratulating him and putting imaginary crowns on top of his head.

“I am just so proud of his hard work in overcoming so much adversity,” K-State wide receiver Phillip Brooks said. “He deserves everything he’s getting. You don’t see what he does behind closed doors, but man he works hard and I’m proud of him. I’m glad that I was a part of some history with him.”

Howard has put on a show for K-State fans over the past few weeks.

He has thrown for 880 yards and 12 touchdowns during his past four games, and he has unlocked the full potential of the K-State offense, which is also excellent on the ground.

If Howard continues to play this well it could be a while before another K-State quarterback is able to surpass the touchdown record that he currently holds.