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Will Howard finally admits he had bulletin board material against Notre Dame in his final game with the Ohio State Buckeyes

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Brandon Little | Last updated Sep 18, 2025 5:48 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes had a major decision to make at the quarterback position two winters ago when Kyle McCord decided to transfer. Knowing that they were going to have a loaded roster in 2024, the decision on who was going to be the quarterback was massive for the Buckeyes. Going with Will Howard from Kansas State proved to be the right choice as there is no denying he was a big part of the Buckeyes winning it all. In the College Football Playoff specifically, Howard turned it up a notch and was terrific for the Buckeyes. It turns out that the now Pittsburgh Steelers QB had some extra motivation in the national championship.

Will Howard gets real about the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

"I thought I was gonna end up at Notre Dame," Howard said recently. "A lot of people don't know this. Like, this was very under wraps. But they ended up signing Riley [Leonard] right before I was about to commit. Like, I was about to commit that day, and I call my agent and he's like, 'Sorry buddy, they just told me they took Riley.'"

It turned out, Howard wasn’t happy about how Notre Dame went about things in the transfer portal that go-around. Howard was a smooth 17-of-21 passing for 231 yards and a pair of touchdowns against a good Notre Dame defense. Howard had eight passing touchdowns to two interceptions during the College Football Playoff and he went over 280 yards in three of those games and over 310 yards against both Tennessee and Oregon.

Will Howard almost ended up at Notre Dame which is wild considering it was reported Ohio State was interested in Riley Leonard.

Here’s a fun question does Ohio State win a National Championship if Riley Leonard was their starting quarterback? pic.twitter.com/CsP6ovzO1G
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) September 18, 2025

"They weren't even talking about him," Howard said. "So that pissed me off. And a lot of people don't know that that had happened going into the national championship. So I remember the general manager was standing on the sideline right when we were warming up and I was staring daggers through him the whole warmup. And I'm a chip-on-my-shoulder guy."

Howard’s strong season in Columbus where he threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and added seven on the ground put him into Ohio State history forever. Despite only being in Columbus for a season, Buckeye Nation will hold Howard in high regard for how he led a very talented team in 2024. The win over Notre Dame was the cherry on top of a special season and it was one that it sounds like Howard had to have.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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