Will Howard made one of the biggest plays of Ohio State's Cotton Bowl win over Texas with his legs. Unfortunately for the quarterback, who will attempt to lead the Buckeyes to a national championship on Monday, the play also got him made fun of by his offensive coordinator and one of the team's star defenders.
On a crucial fourth-and-2 from the Texas 34-yard-line, OC Chip Kelly dialed up a quarterback power, and the play worked to perfection. Howard hit a wide-open hole and took off sprinting with nothing but grass ahead of him... until he tripped untouched at the 20. Howard wound up picking up 18 yards and set up a touchdown run by Quinshon Judkins to put Ohio State up 21–14 four plays later.
Will Howard had an open field in front of him but tripped on this run after converting on fourth down. pic.twitter.com/zVP8XGJhSD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 11, 2025
That didn't stop him from getting ribbed by the rest of the team. Howard revealed a nickname that Kelly bestowed upon him during a postgame film session: "one-legged Willy."
"Kelly calling me one-legged Willy, just giving me a hard time on that one. That wasn’t my best moment,” Howard said. “You know, on a QB power play, you get moving forward a little bit, you think you might get some contact. When you don’t get some contact, and then I just—yeah, it was pretty unathletic of me, but hey, we got the first down.”
Kelly wasn't the only one to rib the senior QB. During his postgame press conference, defensive end Jack Sawyer also poked fun at Howard's fall when asked about his thoughts during his game-sealing scoop-and-score touchdown.
“S---, I guess just don’t fall like Will did," Sawyer said.
Despite hiccups against Oregon and Michigan during the regular season, Howard has lived up to the promise he brought after transferring in from Kansas State. He and Ohio State have the chance to stumble into the program's ninth national title and second College Football Playoff championship on Monday night against Notre Dame.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ohio State OC Chip Kelly Gave QB Will Howard a Hilarious Nickname After Fourth Down Stumble.
