K-State QB Will Howard to enter transfer portal
MANHATTAN ( KSNT ) – K-State football will have a new starting quarterback in 2024.
Will Howard plans to enter the transfer portal after four seasons with the Wildcats, he announced on social media Monday afternoon.
Howard saw the field in all of his four years at K-State. He broke the program record for passing touchdowns.
Howard is not the only K-State player to announce his plans to transfer before the Wildcats’ bowl game. Three others from Klieman’s roster, including a running back and another quarterback, also plan to leave the program.
He threw for nearly 6,000 yards in his K-State career. He tallied 48 passing touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns.
Howard’s story is one of loyalty and battling through adversity at Kansas State. After being thrown into the fire as a true freshman, when Skylar Thompson got injured, Howard was not discouraged by a rocky beginning to his college career. The Wildcat quarterback played in five more games as a sophomore in 2021.
After the 2021 season, he elected to stay at Kansas State despite the program brining in Nebraska transfer Adrian Martinez, presumably to start in front of him. He earned the starting job when Martinez battles an injury and ultimately led K-State football to its first Big 12 title since 2012.
In 2023, Howard entered the season as the known starter for the first time in his college career. His senior year campaign was far from perfect, but he settled in during the second half of the season. In his final six games with the Wildcats,
Howard threw for 15 touchdowns and just two interceptions. He averaged 220 passing yards per game in 12 games as a senior. He also totaled over 350 yards on the ground and 33 total touchdowns (24 passing, nine rushing) in his senior year.
He leaves Kansas State having thrown 48 touchdowns to 25 picks. He ran for 19 scores as a Wildcat.
“This place has meant the world to me,” Howard said on Saturday after K-State’s loss to Iowa State. “All the relationships that I’ve built, the people that I’ve come across, all the coaches, all the players... genuinely I love this place and I’ll cherish it for the rest of my life. This place turned me into a man.”
K-State is expected to turn to Wichita native and four-star prospect Avery Johnson for its bowl game and the 2023 season. Johnson appeared in seven games for the ‘Cats in his true freshman season in 2023.
