Will Howard just completed one of the most successful seasons a quarterback has ever had at Ohio State.
Making 16 starts and eventually leading the Buckeyes to their first national championship since 2014, Howard threw for 4,010 yards, 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Though he was only on campus for one season, Howard's tenure at OSU will always be looked upon fondly by fans in years to come.
Over the past few months, Howard has been training for the NFL Draft, and it's possible that he could go as high as the late second round, depending on teams' needs and evaluation of the Buckeye signal caller.
Howard continues to do the media rounds leading up to the NFL Draft on April 24 and sat down with former NFL head coach Jon Gruden in a 44-minute interview released on Monday. In the video, Gruden and Howard broke down film, route concepts and highlighted key moments from the Buckeyes' 2024 championship season.
We highlighted some of Howard's best quotes from the interview below (but just as a heads up, there is plenty of colorful language in some responses).
On his decision to leave Kansas State and transfer
“For the way I used (the transfer portal), I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me, was going to Ohio State and using my last year of eligibility elsewhere.”
How did his leadership style translate to Columbus
“The first thing I said when I got to Ohio State was, ‘I want to get to know these guys.’ First, I want to have relationships, because they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So they ain't going to listen to me if they don't know me.
“I wasn't going to step on anybody's toes. I was like, you know what, I want to earn their respect and their trust first, and then I'm going to step into that leadership position. So I felt like I did a good job of coming in in the winter and just grinding.”
Why his completion percentage went up to north of 70 percent in 2024
“This year, coach Chip Kelly put an emphasis on completions. I tried to make things happen instead of letting things happen. He literally texted me a couple of days ago, like, ‘Let it happen,’ in quotes.”
What happened on the final play in regulation during the regular season Oregon loss
“In my mind, before this play, they're telling me we need 15 yards for the kicker. They dropped into coverage. The only thing that I could have taken was probably that flat route, and it would have been about six yards.
"But I'm like, I can't do that. I've got to get more yards. But looking back at it, what I learned from this, man, is at the end of the day, I've got to give my team a chance.
"Every single Wednesday from there on out, we did the same exact two-minute drill situation. As hard as it was in this moment, man, I think coming back and beating them in that Rose Bowl, all the more sweeter.”
Will Howard walked me through the last play of Ohio States loss to Oregon and how it was one of the defining moments of their National Title run.
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) April 7, 2025
Presented by @ChevyTrucks #ad #Chevy #Silverado pic.twitter.com/r6yMmrLoyd
On where he went wrong on the pick-six against Penn State that put OSU in a 10-0 hole at the time
“They got me a little bit on this one, so they ran this kind of cone coverage. It's like a cloud, you know, kind of cone coverage. And, like, I remember I came back to the sideline, and nobody said a word to me because they knew I would be fine. You know, our offense, we didn't play great. But, shit, we did what we had to do when we had to do it. My favorite part of this game was our four-minute drill.”
Howard admits throwing to Jelani Thurman on Ohio State’s converted 4th-and-1 against PSU was completely unintentional
“We had never once thrown this route on this concept. Jeremiah’s triple teamed and our flat was doubled. (Gruden then asked for clarification that Will had never thrown this route before). No, never.”
On the Michigan loss and how the team responded
“The thing is, that was what we clung to, is that we still had shit to play for. And in this moment, man, it didn't feel like it. It felt like the world's kind of collapsing around you, and everybody's hating you, and the reason you come to Ohio State is to beat that team up north, man.
"It was tough, and we had a players-only meeting that next week, and we basically said, like, we still have the national championship. Obviously, it didn't end the way that we wanted it to, and it was just fucking brutal. As much as this game hurt, the only thing that we could do was stay together, and for a common purpose, and that was playing that.”
On Tennessee players running out of the tunnels in Columbus without their shirts on in cold weather
“Well, the funny thing is, is they came out with their shirts on, or their shirts off, and they ran over to the opposite end zone and immediately put them back on.
"I was like, what the fuck are these clowns doing, man? At that moment, I knew we had them.”
On Ohio State’s mindset for the Oregon rematch
“We were going to come out. We weren't holding any bullets back, and I loved it. That first play of the game, we ran a little pump smoke route, and then Gee Scott ran the little wheel route, and I thought we were going to probably run the smoke first to set it up, and he came out.
"He was like, no, we're running that first play of the game. We're setting the tone, and I was like, fuck yeah, let's go. I love that …
"I knew coming into this game we were going to put up a ton of points.”
On if his touchdown throw to Emeka Egbuka in the Rose Bowl was the best throw he made at Ohio State
“It's up there. I think it might be, honestly. It's one of my favorites for sure.”
On Ohio State’s game plan against Texas
“It was going to be more of a methodical deal. It wasn't going to be like Oregon where we were able to just hit shots, two plays, one play, touchdown.”
On if Texas attempted to defend OSU the same style as Michigan
“They did. They wanted to play in a simulated cover two. ... We knew we were going to have to slice them in some zones, be able to take our checkdowns. Checkdowns were a big emphasis.”
An inside baseball secret regarding TreVeyon Henderson’s touchdown on a screen pass in the Cotton Bowl
“We practiced this damn screen play so many times and never ran it. Never. Like, this is our first time running it.”
What was the preparation like for Notre Dame
“The biggest thing was we knew they were a man team at their core, but we had a ton of built-in alerts for zone.”
Ryan Day told Will Howard to use his legs more in the National Championship
“In this game, it was a big, Coach Day was like, you're going to need to go win the game with your legs.”
Breaking down the Third-and-Jeremiah play and what’s the actual name of the play
“So this is dos left 73 grill. And grill is just saying we got go balls outside and Emeka’s running a middle read inside. And then just put the ball 42 yards on the red line, man, and let No. 4 be No. 4.”
On what Ryan Day told him about why he should transfer to Ohio State
“When coach Day, when he came and met with me, he said, ‘I believe that you can be the guy that can lead us to a national title.’ And I said, ‘I'm not going to let you down.’
"I love being the underdog and kind of when people don't expect me to go out and do things, I do it. And I think that's kind of the story of me in the draft this year. You know, I wouldn't rather be in any other place than where I'm at. Kind of a come from behind guy, you know, hopefully sneak up on some people and just keep rising.”
