#18 Will Howard — Well, this guy might be a national champion and Pittsburgh Steeler now, but his (much larger) little brother Ryan will be a redshirt freshman this fall to continue the Howard family legacy in Manhattan. (And yes, the Frankenstein stadium to the east is still his f***ing house!) | Photo by Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

In which BracketCat counts down the 72nd day until the 2025 kickoff with a profile of Kansas State offensive lineman Ryan Howard.

#72 Ryan Howard

Redshirt Freshman | 6-7 | 290 lbs. | Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Position: Offensive Line
Previous College: None
Projection: Scout Team
Status: On Scholarship

Ryan Howard (June 8, 2005) is a massive young offensive tackle with a fairly famous older brother who is majoring in business administration. He redshirted and did not play in 2024 in order to shed a whopping 35 pounds, he’s still big enough to play right now if necessary.

Howard prepped under head coach Mike Milano at Downingtown High School West, where he was viewed as the 54th-best offensive tackle in the Class of 2024 by ESPN, while the organization also rated him the 16th-best overall prospect in the state of Pennsylvania.

He also was rated as the 18th-best overall prospect in the state by Rivals, and earned first-team all-state honors as a junior from PA Football News and Pennsylvania Football Writers.

Howard, who also participated in high school basketball, selected K-State over offers from Bowling Green, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Syracuse, Temple, West Virginia and Yale, as well as interest from Penn State. His primary recruiter was his former position coach, Conor Riley.

(In case you haven’t figured it out yet, Howard’s older brother, Will, was a quarterback for the Wildcats from 2020 through 2023 and still holds the school record for career passing touchdowns with 48. Will was selected in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.)