From Three-Star to National Champion: Will Howard Makes Ohio State History In One Season

Posted By on January 21, 2025

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Howard admires a jumbo championship ring after the Buckeyes won the national championship. / Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

Will Howard Helped Ohio State Earn Its Ninth National Championship With a 34-23 Win against Notre Dame. 

Before Ohio State

Who would have believed that a six-foot-four Quarterback with only five power four offers out of high school would become a College Football National Champion? Will Howard comes from a small town in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, where only 8,320 people live as of 2023. Howard would end up choosing to enroll early at Kansas State under head coach Chris Klieman in January of 2020. 

During his freshman season, he was the backup to now NFL journeyman and Wildcat legend Skylar Thompson, but after a series of injuries for Thompson, he was ruled out for the rest of the 2020 season. Who was the backup? The true freshman, a former dual-sport athlete, a former Pennsylvania Player of The Year, and accounting major Will Howard. In his first seven career games, he led the Wildcats to a two-and-five record and threw for eight touchdowns and ten interceptions. 

Howard dealt with more adversity at Kansas State than any quarterback seemingly could have. In his sophomore season, he was named the backup once again to Skylar Thompson and only got the chance to start three games due to more injuries from Thompson. The next season Klieman would bring in Nebraska standout transfer Adrian Martinez to run their offense. Howard was going to redshirt during the 2022 season but once again after an injury, he was thrust into the starting position and ended up scoring four straight touchdowns for the Wildcats as they beat the number nine ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys 48-0. The Wildcats found their quarterback after two seasons in Howard. After being put in a position that was never winnable he was finally able to find success as a starting quarterback. Howard would go on to lead Kansas State to a Big 12 Championship victory and a Sugar Bowl appearance against Alabama. Howard finished the season with fifteen touchdowns to four interceptions, including three rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats finished the season five and two under him. 

The next season was Howard’s senior season, at the time it was not certain if the Covid redshirt would be used as there was a chance he could have entered the 2024 NFL Draft. He would start all twelve games for the first time in his career and helped lead the Wildcats to an eight-and-four record. Howard would not play in the bowl game due to entering the transfer portal before. Among many Kansas State fans, this was the decision they wanted because of the potential Avery Johnson showed in the limited games played throughout the season.

 

On January 4th, 2024 Will Howard became an Ohio State Buckeye, as he announced his decision on Twitter/X following an official visit to Columbus. 

Howard has had to overcome every obstacle in his football career, from a broken arm as a junior in high school, to losing a starting quarterback job for three straight seasons just to be thrown in the game at the worst times and making what he had to work with work. In a USA Today article Emeka Egbuka said “When he came in, he was almost immediately immersed in the culture”. 

The first obstacle as a Buckeye Howard had to face was a 32-31 defeat to the Oregon Ducks where with five seconds left on the clock, Howard ran up the middle and with zero seconds left slid to try and set up Jayden Fielding for a game-winning field goal. Ducks fans would storm the field, leaving this famous image.  

The next obstacle for Howard was returning to his home of Pennsylvania to face off with the team that did not think he was good enough to play for them in Penn State. The game was not his best, but he was able to help the Buckeyes pull off a huge win on the road. Then it came time for the biggest game of the season for Ohio State, the team up north came to town for a showdown that would send Ohio State to the Big Ten Championship with a win and a possible number one overall seed in the College Football Playoff with a win. Howard played his worst game in a Buckeye uniform, throwing two critical interceptions to help the Wolverines win another edition of “The Game”. 

Ohio State would end up being ranked as the eighth seed in the first edition of the twelve-team College Football Playoff, getting matched up with the Tennessee Volunteers in a home matchup for the Buckeyes. Howard would openly say in interviews that it was now win or go home and that one mistake could mean he would never be able to play in the Scarlett and Gray ever again. 

Howard would then play the best football of his college career and help Ohio State string together four straight wins on the hardest side of the bracket to secure a National Championship. The 6’5 fifth-year senior would go on to win the Cotton Bowl Offensive MVP and then the National Championship Offensive MVP along the way. 

Will Howard if you do read this article on behalf of all Ohio State fans and my great-grandparents who graduated as Buckeyes, Thank You for bringing this program back to the promise land. You will always be a Buckeye legend even if we were only able to have you for one season.

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