Will Howard Rises to Ohio State’s Championship Moment

Will Howard picked up a silver ring fit for a giant and admired a piece of foam three feet across for the national title winners to adorn. The Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback stared at it and figured out first what it was and then what it meant.

As for symbols, it’s hard to get more obvious, but there was still a great deal of disbelief as he looked over the pages.

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Here was a kid from little Downingtown, Pa. — in the form of four years with the Kansas State Wildcats — standing on stage with confetti falling from his shoulder pads and the national championship trophy just feet away. Howard was still processing it all after playing the game of his life in a thrilling 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

As reality set in and the neutral expression gave way to a sly grin, he turned to hear trainer Ryan Day coming up from behind. The two locked eyes and embraced, smiling widely as they let out a cry of emotion that was equal parts catharsis and celebration.

That’s what they were here for. This moment, surrounded by thousands of cameras that faded into the background as teammates bounced around them. Just a coach and his handpicked quarterback celebrated a mission few thought they could accomplish just a month ago.

“The lights are bright. It’s a play and the TV timeouts are about four minutes long. It feels like everything is a little bit of a show,” Howard said. “You have to block all that out, and we’ve been talking about that all week . Remove all distractions. Don’t listen to the outside noise. Just get the job done. When you get into big games like this, whoever is able to have balance in the noise and be able to overcome adversity (will win).

“It wasn’t always perfect. It never will be. But I think the team that we have and the leadership that we have with Coach Day, just the resilience that this team has shown all year, it’s just unbelievable. “

Ohio State winning its ninth national championship in school history is immediately believable when taken at face value. But just over a month ago, the fan base was vacillating between being completely apathetic and being downright hostile to their program. The Buckeyes faithful were all over Day, a coach who preached toughness so much that it allowed him to inject his judgment into game planning for the Michigan Wolverines.

Fewer still believed in Howard. His late slide ended a painful loss to the Oregon Ducks earlier in the season. Then he threw two interceptions to look pedestrian against that team up north — one of the few benchmarks of a program that takes the field expecting a win every single Saturday.

To Day’s credit, the negative vibes didn’t infiltrate the bunker at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during the long layoff. It’s for Howard that the enigmatic offense returned to its roots and operated with artisanal precision.

As a result, Ohio State became The Ohio State everyone expected to see. The roster stacked with NFL draft picks played like it. The coaching staff that had been so focused on nibbling on the margins finally started playing to their strengths. The quarterback, who had everything placed on his shoulders, also began to handle.

Howard was initially an odd choice to be the team’s new quarterback after former starter Kyle McCord was subtly shown the door following last season’s loss to Michigan. The 6′ 4″ senior saved his best for last though, setting a record by completing his first 13 passes.

He finished 17-of-21 for 231 yards and a pair of scores. His running ability remained devastating in short yardage, picking up several key third-down conversions as Ohio State ran off a quartet of 75-plus-yard touchdown drives.

While the Buckeyes’ lead ballooned to 31-7 midway through the third quarter, the Fighting Irish still had a little of their nickname left in them. Quarterback Riley Leonard (255 total passing yards, three TDs) and wideout Jaden Greathouse (six catches, 128 receiving yards, two TDs) broke out of a midgame slump to become a modern-day Joe Montana and Kris Haines with big game all over the field.

Suddenly, a rout turned into a nail-biter as the lead came down to one score and OSU got the ball back with under four minutes left.

“(Howard) said lock in, they can’t get a drop on us and get after it,” offensive lineman Donovan Jackson said. “He is a natural leader. I am so proud to have him on this list.”

Will Howard tries to escape a tackle during the national championship game.

Howard tries to escape a tackle during the national championship game. / Kevin D. Liles/Sports Illustrated

After Irish linebacker Jack Kiser scrambled around a block to drop the signal-caller for a loss two plays into the drive, Howard etched his name into the minds of every Ohio State fan. Facing a critical third-and-11 at his own 34-yard line, he calmly took a three-step drop and unleashed it downfield.

High and curved, the rainbow of a throw was suspended in the air for what seemed like an eternity.

“The bid placement, the air and the spiral … none of it surprises me,” receiver Emeka Egbuka said. “I see it every day.”

“When we click, Will gets us in and out of the right spot. He checked maybe more than half the plays today and did a good job, he didn’t miss one,” offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said. “I thought it was a really safe call.”

A safe bet in such a situation is all relative with not just a game but a national championship at stake.

Then again, Howard knew he had Jeremiah Smith on the other end of the play. The superstar freshman seemed right at home in the NFL venue, getting a step on Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray and calmly hauling in a 57-yarder to seal the win just before the two-minute warning.

“I mean, I wouldn’t want to be in that situation if they were in zero coverage on the last play,” safety Caleb Downs says, shaking his head. “It’s down in history now.”

“They had five up front and we had those five guys and we had to block our asses and knew something special was going to happen,” offensive lineman Josh Fryar said. “I mean, look what happened. Let’s throw it to the best receiver in the country. He goes up and catches it. I’d call it the national championship game.”

It has a nice ring to it, an image sure to find a place on the walls of the football facility in Columbus, Ohio, along with all the other hagiography on a program that has plenty to celebrate.

For those living in the moment, such a game was the perfect encapsulation of this Buckeyes team that looked like the preseason favorite to win it all. The one with all the talent in the world finally putting it all together in the midst of a run that will rank right up there with the CFP championship celebrated a decade earlier with coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Cardale Jones jumping with excitement on the sideline in Atlanta.

“It’s crazy looking back at all the things that have happened in my career, going from really playing as a freshman at Kansas State, not really knowing what I’m doing out there and going into my junior year kind of lost, didn’t really think I was going to play and then ended up winning a Big 12 championship,” Howard said. “I’m just so thankful that I got the chance to come here and be a Buckeye and that Coach Day believed in me and that these guys believed in me.”

Howard can no doubt thank Jones, responsible for one of Ohio State’s NIL collectives, as much as Day for helping ensure his path ended with a ring he can admire much longer than he did on stage .

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard admires a jumbo championship ring after the Buckeyes won the national championship.

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

Howard is also sure to earn plenty of comparisons to the Buckeye faithful to another championship signal-caller who never lit up the box but got on the field just when the demanding fan base needed him most.

“Oh yeah, Craig Krenzel. A lot like him,” says former coach Jim Tressel. “Tough, didn’t want to lose. (Howard) came in and did exactly what Ryan and his staff hoped he would do, bring toughness. Bring maturity . Bring people together. He was the right guy.”

The right quarterback, the right play, the right moment and yes, even the right team in the end.