Will Howard: Buckeye Legend.
Ahead of the 2024 season, expectations were high for Ohio State, even by the lofty standards of such a storied program. With numerous seniors returning for one final year, a handful of proven transfers from the SEC, and a supposedly 'All-World' freshman wideout led many to predict that the Buckeyes would be exactly where they are today: National Champions.
But in an ironic twist of fate for a program that had grown accustomed to growing record-setting quarterbacks on trees, one of, if not the biggest question mark for this particular vintage of the Scarlet & Gray was at that position. Will Howard was far from a sure thing, entering the transfer portal following rumors that he would lose his starting job at Kansas State to the highly touted Avery Johnson, leading to a spot on the transfer recruiting rankings behind the likes of Aidan Chiles, Brock Vandagriff, and Maalik Murphy.
Tied with him in the rankings was a fellow, fifth-year transfer from Duke named Riley Leonard. But while Leonard was expected to elevate the Notre Dame offense in his lone year under center, Howard's expected contribution was less clear. Yet after the two squared off inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium this past Monday night, it was Howard who stood on the post-game podium, holding the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy and earning offensive MVP honors.
While Howard's regular season performance resembled a summer day at Cedar Point, he outplayed all other quarterbacks in the postseason, topping it off with what I believe was his best overall performance as a Buckeye in his final game.
Leonard, of course, led the Irish on an unforgettable 18-play, 10-minute scoring drive to open the game, largely thanks to his ability to move the chains as a runner. However, the two veteran signal-callers seemed to trade places in the fourth quarter, with Leonard bringing the Irish back into the game with his arm while Howard ate up valuable clock as a designed runner.
That is, of course, until he hit that talented freshman wideout for a 56-yard gain on 3rd & 11 to set up the championship-sealing field goal.
Now, in our 16th and final Film Study game review of the '24-25 season, let's examine the performance of both QBs and the coaching staffs who clearly did their homework heading into this memorable matchup.
Here's what we go over in this week's video breakdown:
- How Ohio State's star defensive ends took away explosive runs from Leonard
- Fighting Irish OC Mike Denbrock schemed up big gains through the air via trips formations
- Chip Kelly's use of slot receivers in the run game to open up cutback lanes
- The subtle brilliance of Jeremiah Smith
As always, click the header photo above to watch the video here, or head straight to YouTube.
Finally, I want to thank you all for watching this year and hope you have enjoyed the new format, switching from written content to video. I know some longtime readers still miss the old format, and there's a chance we lean back into it for some offseason content, but I appreciate your patience nonetheless as I adjusted to this new process. I hope you all enjoyed watching these videos as much as I did making them.
