Will Howard has been one of the many transfer portal success stories at quarterback in the modern era.
And his college career closed out on the highest of notes possible as he broke both the Ohio State completion percentage record and the record for most consecutive completions in a College Football Playoff game en route to a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the national title game.
The former Kansas State signal-caller started off hot as he connected on all four of his passing attempts in the first quarter.
Ohio State’s initial drive of the game continued into the second quarter because Notre Dame greatly won the time of possession battle in the first quarter, keeping the ball for nearly 10 minutes. Howard was perfect the whole way through, going 5-for-5 passing for 46 passing yards and an eight-yard touchdown pass complete to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
That tune continued as Howard would go on to complete a record 13 back-to-back passes before his first incompletion came in the form of a dropped pass by running back TreVeyon Henderson.
But there weren’t many moments like that as Howard and the offense churned seemingly at will with little resistance from the Notre Dame defense. Howard played lights out down the stretch, dropping dime after dime.
But he also efficiently used his legs just the way that Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was so commended for, moving the chains in third-down situations and breaking out on some big runs of his own.
Hardly any of it did the Irish ever have an answer for, as Howard completed 17 of his 21 passing attempts (81%) for 231 yards with two touchdowns. He also carried the ball 16 times for 57 yards to finish as Ohio State’s second-leading rusher.
Keeping a level mindset was one of the most important things that factored into Howard being able to roll like he did.
“It can be a lot. The lights are bright. It’s a spectacle, and the TV time-outs are like four minutes long,” Howard told me. “It feels like everything is kind of a show a little bit.”
He said he had to mentally block all of the talk — positive or negative — all week and all game long. Howard said he’s always had faith in the “unbelievable resilience” of this team that has shown itself time and time again.
“When you get into big games like this, whoever is able to have the poise in the noise and be able to overcome adversity because it wasn’t always pretty today,” Howard said. “It wasn’t always perfect. It’s never going to be.”
But one thing that is nearly perfect is the was Howard’s draft stock has absolutely skyrocketed since his time at the helm of the Buckeyes. He’ll have a chance to keep on that same trajectory as he heads to the Senior Bowl up next on the schedule show scouts what he brings to the table.
Those attributes, tangibly and intangibly are things head coach Ryan Day knows well. He recognized them immediately when Howard sold him in the transfer portal.
“I saw something in him, a football IQ intelligence,” Day told me. “I saw him play on film at Kansas State and win championships and win big games and be able to make an impact with his feet but also throw with accuracy and anticipate throws. And those are things that are hard to find.”
In a way it was almost written in the stars, the way this all ended. Day got his guy and Howard got his chance to go from underdog to top dog.
“I had a feeling that we would be in a situation like this where we needed his feet to go win a game. That’s exactly what happened in this game.”
