Will Howard’s first weeks in Steelers training camp have brought a familiar kind of pressure.
The former Kansas State quarterback is battling for the backup job in Pittsburgh, but ESPN’s look at the second week of camp gave the edge to third-round pick Drew Allar. According to the report, Allar separated himself a bit with sharper play and more confidence throwing the ball downfield.
"Allar was slightly more impressive than Howard during this week's practices," the article wrote. "He was more decisive in his decision-making, took more chances downfield and was often successful whenever he did stretch the field. He also made some tight throws in traffic that included several impressive completions for scores during red zone drills."
That’s not the kind of update Howard was hoping for as he tries to establish himself as the next man up behind Aaron Rodgers. There has already been plenty of buzz around Howard’s future in Pittsburgh, with some fans and analysts viewing him as a possible long-term answer even while Rodgers is back in the mix. But early setbacks in camp make that case harder to sell.
Howard entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick in the 2025 Draft after finishing his college career with a championship run at Ohio State. Before that, he spent four seasons at Kansas State, where he threw for 5,786 yards, 48 touchdowns and 25 interceptions while adding 921 rushing yards and 19 scores on the ground. He transferred to Ohio State to chase a national stage and delivered, helping lead the Buckeyes to the title in a memorable postseason stretch.
Still, his Kansas State résumé is part of why he slid to the sixth round in the first place. One huge year didn’t erase the longer body of work, and NFL teams clearly weighed those four seasons heavily. He won a Big 12 championship and posted solid production with the Wildcats, but not enough to change the draft conversation around him.
There’s also been some skepticism about how much of that national title run should be pinned on Howard alone. Ohio State had the country’s top defense and a roster loaded with NFL-caliber weapons, and that context helped shape how evaluators viewed him heading into the draft.
Even so, Pittsburgh gives him a real opportunity. The quarterback room doesn’t have a locked-in star beyond Rodgers, and with the 42-year-old well removed from his MVP peak, there’s a path for a backup to matter in 2026. For Howard, that means the job is still there to be won - but camp is reminding everyone that nothing is coming easy.
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Arizona State and Oklahoma State stand out as the stretches that could end up defining the Wildcats year, especially with a first-time head coach trying to establish his footing in league play. If Kansas State handles the manageable parts of the slate, there is a path to looking more dangerous than that eighth-place prediction suggests, but if the swing games go the wrong way, the margin for error shrinks fast. For a program that has built its identity on steady progress, Kleins debut will be judged not just by talent, but by how well the Wildcats navigate the pressure points waiting in conference play. [Read more 🡒]