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Ohio State Gives Will Howard New Nicknames After CFP National Championship

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Spencer Ostrow | Last updated Jan 23, 2025 7:46 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes claimed their ninth national title on Monday night, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23.

Led by first-year Buckeye quarterback Will Howard, Ohio State went through a gauntlet this season, beating six of the top 10 teams in the final College Football Playoff rankings.

Howard, who transferred from Kansas State after four seasons, took advantage of his extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19 to chase a national championship. After he did just that, he shared a post on Instagram Thursday afternoon.

"Year of a lifetime," Howard captioned it. "Through all the ups and downs. Wouldn’t change it for the world. National Champions! God is so Good."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Will Howard (@willhoward)

Ohio State took to the comments, giving Howard three new nicknames after bringing the Buckeyes their first championship since 2014.

"Chill Will. MVP Will. National Champion Will," the team wrote.

Howard will be remembered in Columbus for many years to come. Even after the tough loss to Michigan in the final regular season game, he helped the Buckeyes follow up Michigan’s national championship last season with one of their own this season.

"I don't have words, man," Howard said in the postgame interview on Monday. "They've changed my life in more ways than I can say. Coach Day and these guys here have completely, completely changed my life... I can't believe God gave me the chance to be a Buckeye. There's nothing like it."

The Pennsylvania native finished the year completing 309-of-423 passes for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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