Ryan Howard has waited years for this moment, and Kansas State finally handed him the keys at left tackle.
The 6-foot-7, 295-pound blocker made his first college start Saturday in Manhattan and did his part in a blowout, helping the Wildcats hammer Nicholls 71-3 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Kansas State leaned on him early, too, calling multiple run plays to the left side in the first quarter as the offense rolled to 312 rushing yards and six touchdowns, plus 247 passing yards and three more scores.
Rodney Fields was one of the big beneficiaries, piling up 101 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.
For Howard, the assignment came with a deeper meaning than just one game. He has been around K-State for a long time, first because his older brother Will committed to the program in 2019, and later because he spent so much time around the team before earning a scholarship himself. Manhattan already felt familiar by the time he officially arrived on campus.
“I got a little more of a jump than most freshmen do, because I knew a lot of guys in the locker room,” Ryan Howard said this week. “I knew the atmosphere and I knew the people around here. That definitely helped me get a little bit of a head start.”
That comfort mattered when veteran left tackle John Pastore went down with a season-ending injury in training camp. Kansas State immediately turned to Howard as the next man up, and coach Collin Klein said the lineman had earned that trust.
“He works so hard,” Klein said. “He has busted his butt since the day he got here.
I remember when I was recruiting Will, I could see (Ryan’s) passion. He fell in love with this place and he really cares about this place.
He has worked to get his body ready to go. There’s going to be a growth curve for sure for him, but he’s going to take it in stride.”
Howard’s teammates sounded just as confident. Tight end Will Anciaux said the group never flinched once the injury situation changed.
“I’ve always had great confidence in Ryan,” Anciaux said. “The second that we got a little dinged up, there wasn’t ever a falter. We all have total confidence in Ryan to go out there and get the job done, because of the consistency that she shows up with every day.”
The connection with his brother has been part of the story all along. Ryan Howard said the two have spent years helping each other out, including times when Ryan would snap the ball to Will at home and then act like a tight end running routes to keep Will’s arm sharp. This week, Will Howard helped him prepare for Nicholls by studying the defense with him before kickoff.
Will Howard, now a backup quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, was in town for Saturday’s game. Even though his move to Ohio State for his senior year loosened his ties to Kansas State, Ryan said his older brother has stayed fully invested in his progress.
“He’s been nothing but supportive,” Ryan Howard said of his older brother. “Obviously, having him be able to come out here with him being off this past weekend was great.
He’s been great helping me. We even FaceTimed for a couple hours and watched some film of Nicholls together, just talking and looking over some stuff.
He’s been awesome.”
Ryan Howard says he wants the same kind of championship success his brother chased, including a Big 12 title. But now, the path is his own. After first coming to a K-State game seven years ago, he finally got his shot in the starting lineup, and he made the most of it.
“It was pretty surreal (to be in the starting lineup),” Ryan Howard said, “after all the work that I’ve put in the past two years. I was finally able to go out there on the field and show what that work has produced.
So it was really special. It was a great time.”
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Collin Klein Knows Exactly How K State Should Remember Chris Klieman
Chris Kliemans retirement did not send Kansas State into a search for a stranger. Instead, the Wildcats handed the program to one of its most familiar figures in Collin Klein, who was named head coach after Klieman stepped aside following seven years on the job. Klieman also gave his blessing to the move, endorsing Klein as his successor and staying around the program in an advisory role.
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Mason arrived as a transfer from Louisiana Tech with a rsum that included second-team All-Conference USA honors, and his role showed how quickly Kansas State trusted him to stabilize the unit. The encouraging part now is not just that the injury appears less severe, but that a return could come soon, leaving the Wildcats with a meaningful decision about how quickly to ease him back into the lineup. [Read more 🡒]