Former Buckeyes Quarterback Will Howard Says He Almost Chose Notre Dame In Transfer Portal

Ohio State was a phone call away from a drastically different season. 

On the Not Just Football podcast, hosted by quarterback Will Howard’s Pittsburgh Steelers teammate and former Ohio State defensive end Cam Heyward, Howard revealed he was prepared to commit to Notre Dame before the Fighting Irish chose to bring in former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard instead.

Howard said he felt blindsided when Notre Dame pivoted to Leonard, as the Irish had been his top choice in the transfer portal, a decision he learned about through a call from his agent.

“I thought I was gonna end up at Notre Dame,” Howard said. “A lot of people don’t know this. This was very under wraps. But they ended up signing Riley right before I was about to commit. Like, I was about to commit that day, and I called my agent and he’s like, ‘Sorry buddy, they just told me they took Riley.’”

Though to avoid distractions, Day did not want to recruit a transfer quarterback until after Ohio State’s Cotton Bowl matchup.

Howard was in Dallas training at the time of the Buckeyes bowl game and Day and Hartline came to the Kansas State’s hotel for a “secret meeting.” 

However, Howard said he wasn’t sure what the interest level was like for Day and the Buckeyes when Day and Hartline first met with him in his hotel room.  

“(Day) didn’t want to do anything until after the Cotton Bowl because we had a bunch of quarterbacks still on the roster,” Howard said. “He wanted to make sure everyone stayed and that nobody got feeling weird about them recruiting a quarterback. I finally met with them down in Dallas, it was kind of a secret meeting. And it was when I was down there training, and they were down there in Dallas. And he came over and met me in my hotel, him and Coach Hartline. At that point, I wasn’t really sure what the interest level was.” 

Though, it was quickly made known to Howard what Day and Ohio State’s intentions were. 

The Buckeyes didn’t just want Howard, he was the only one they wanted. 

“He came in, sat down in an office like this and basically told me like, ‘I believe you’re the guy. You’re the only quarterback I’m recruiting in the portal. I think you can come and win us a national championship. And money, whatever, that’ll come, whatever you need.’ I was like, ‘Wow.'”

Throughout the season, Howard said he was motivated to make Notre Dame regret its decisions and particularly in the national title game, where he came face-to-face with those who passed on him.

“They weren’t even talking about him. So that pissed me off. 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.”

Ultimately it ended up being the perfect ending for the Buckeyes, as Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the national championship game — a full-circle moment for Howard.

“It all ended up working out, and here we are,” Howard said. “It was the best decision I ever made in my damn life.”