Will Howard recently revealed that his College Football Playoff National Championship season with the Ohio State Buckeyes almost didn't happen. Howard was close to committing to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but Marcus Freeman and Co. ultimately opted to go all in on Riley Leonard.
"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,'" Leonard said on the "Not Just Football" podcast with Cam Heyward.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish On SI's Nick Shepkowski doesn't believe the CFP title game runner-ups would've been better off with the Kansas State Wildcats transfer over Leonard. Shepkowski believes Howard is a clear step down.
So much so that the Fighting Irish wouldn't have been "anywhere near" last season's CFP final had Howard committed and Leonard went elsewhere.
"That's great that Will Howard was able to use his experience as motivation but let's get real here for a minute," Shepkowski wrote.
"Notre Dame chose correctly in going with Riley Leonard over him. Yes, Howard wound up winning the national championship with Ohio State, but do you think for a second that Notre Dame gets to the College Football Playoff at all, let alone the the National Championship Game with him instead of Leonard?
"As uplifting as it is to hear Howard call out former Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden in the clip (now at USC), it's hard to imagine Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish getting anywhere near last season's National Championship Game without Leonard."
While Howard was more game manager than playmaker, and Leonard was the opposite, saying Notre Dame wouldn't have been anywhere close to the title game feels excessive. Perhaps with a little championship jealousy mixed in.
Al Golden's Fighting Irish defense did a lot of the heavy lifting, and for all we know, Howard could've looked more dynamic against Notre Dame's easier schedule.
We'll never know. All we do know is that Howard has a ring for his troubles. And the Fighting Irish are probably happy with how things turned out, too.