Will Howard thought he'd be Notre Dame QB, but beat them in the CFP National Championship

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard revealed that before winning a national championship with Ohio State football against Notre Dame , he intended to join the Fighting Irish in the 2024 transfer portal .

In an interview with Steelers teammate and former Buckeye Cam Heyward on the " Not Just Football " podcast, Howard revealed that on the day he planned to commit to Notre Dame, the Fighting Irish took Duke quarterback Riley Leonard in the transfer portal.

"A lot of people don't know this, it was very under wraps," Howard said, "But they ended up signing Riley right before I was about to commit."

Howard played four seasons at Kansas State before entering the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 college football season. He said his agent broke the news to him that Notre Dame was going with Leonard.

"I was like, 'What? They weren't even talking about him,' " Howard said. "So that pissed me off."

Howard said during warmups before the national championship game he was "staring daggers" at Notre Dame's previous general manager Chad Bowden.

"I'm a chip-on-my-shoulder guy," he said. "... That gave it to me."

Howard explained that if he did not go to Ohio State , he "probably would have ended up declaring" for the NFL draft.

Instead, Howard ended up throwing for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns while completing 73.1% of his passes at OSU. He and his Buckeyes teammates defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the title game.

Howard then entered the 2025 NFL Draft and was selected by the Steelers in the sixth round.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Will Howard once eyed Notre Dame QB job, then beat them in title game