The Ohio State football program added several key transfer portal players before last year started. It was the first time that the Buckeyes spent a significant amount of money in the Transfer Portal. It ended up being the correct move, as they ended up winning the national championship.
The Ohio State Buckeyes added Caleb Downs, Seth McLaughlin, and Quinshon Jukdins, just to name a few transfers. None of the transfers was more important than quarterback Will Howard, who took over for Kyle McCord after he had a horrible 2023 season with the Buckeyes.
Howard ended up leading the Ohio State football team to the national championship, winning over Notre Dame in that final game. Recently, Howard revealed that he almost chose the Fighting Irish instead of the Buckeyes while they were looking for a quarterback.
Former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard almost chose Notre Dame
While speaking on Not Just Football with Cameron Heyward, former Buckeye and current Steelers teammate, Howard revealed that he actually wanted to commit to Notre Dame before Riley Leonard beat him to the punch.
"I thought I was gonna end up at Notre Dame. A lot of people don't know this. Like, 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 call my agent and he's like, 'Sorry buddy, they just told me they took Riley.'"
Howard made sure that Notre Dame regretted their decision during the national championship game against the Fighting Irish.
"They weren't even talking about him, 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 made sure that Notre Dame regretted that decision, as he set an Ohio State bowl record with his 81% completion percentage en route to a national championship victory. He clearly ended up making the right choice, winning a title with the Buckeyes instead.
Ohio State was certainly happy that he made the decision to pick the Buckeyes. Now, Howard will forever be an Ohio State legend after leading them to a national title. Hopefully, he does something similar while he's in the NFL.