"My whole career I've been overlooked": Will Howard makes best sales pitch for himself as 2025 NFL draft nears

Will Howard makes a bold claim about why he should be drafted in a clip from Monday's episode of "Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL." The former Ohio State Buckeyes star is set to enter the 2025 NFL draft alongside other talented quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders and Cam Ward.

On Monday, the NFL posted a clip of Howard on Instagram where the quarterback was seen discussing how he has always felt overlooked in his college football career.

"I feel like my whole career, I've been overlooked. I didn't have an offer from Pitt(Pittsburgh). I didn't have an offer from Syracuse. I didn't have an offer from Boston College, Penn State, Duke, Carolina, and none of those schools offered me. I was trying for years, and I went to Kansas State, and I said I want to prove those people wrong," Howard said.

The 23-year-old added that he plans to make NFL teams regret not picking him over the other quarterbacks in the upcoming draft.

"I hope Penn State looks back and says, 'D**n, we've missed out on Will Howard. You know when I get to the NFL, I don't want you guys to miss out on me, because every single team that picks a quarterback in front of me, I'm going to make it my mission to make sure that they regret not picking me."

Now that's a good sales pitch. But we will have to see if it convinces teams to pick Howard higher.

NFL analyst Lance Zierlein projects the former Ohio State quarterback as a fourth or fifth-round pick. Meanwhile, Sanders and Ward are expected to be selected early in the first round.

Howard is looking for an NFL franchise to give him a chance, as Ohio State did in his last year in college football.

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Will Howard's final year in College Football with the Ohio State Buckeyes

Before the 2024 season, Howard decided to transfer to Ohio State after four years with the Kansas State Wildcats. Coach Ryan Day allowed him to be the team's starting quarterback, which led to a successful season. The Buckeyes finished with a 14-2 record and were placed fourth in the Big Ten standings to earn a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Howard had the best season of his college career by completing 309 passes for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also has the second-best completion percentage among quarterbacks in the 2025 draft class, with 73.1%. Sanders ranked ahead of him with a 74% completion percentage.

On Jan. 20, Howard achieved what other quarterbacks in the draft couldn't by leading Ohio State to a 34-23 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. He finished the game with 17 of 21 completed passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

The NFL draft prospect hopes his achievements last season will convince teams he is worthy of being selected earlier than the fourth or fifth round.