"Never been coached this hard": Will Howard lauds Ryan Day's working style

Quarterback Will Howard led the offense as they successfully helped the Ohio State Buckeyes defeat Notre Dame 34-23 in the national championship game. Howard, coach Ryan Day and linebacker Cody Simon sat down for a press conference where Howard spoke about how hard Day works, as reported by Dan Hope.

“I’ve never seen someone work a game like Coach Day does ... I’ve never been coached this hard. I knew I was going to be coached hard, and that’s what I needed ... Coming here was an unbelievable opportunity for me.”

Will Howard stepped up with four excellent performances in the CFP

Entering the College Football Playoff, many doubted Ryan Day, Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The team was fresh off a 13-10 loss to unranked rival Michigan and had been eliminated from Big Ten championship contention. However, the team bounced back with a dominant playoff run.

When Howard spoke at the press conference on Tuesday morning, he gave credit to Day for instilling a great work ethic in the team. He was also a good quarterback this season, but he was not a driving force for the offense like other star quarterbacks like Shedeur Sanders or Cam Ward. However, in the playoffs, he stepped up with four of his best performances of the season.

In all four playoff games, Howard had a QBR over 90. Compared to the regular season, he only had three games with a QBR over 90. He also had three of his five highest passing yardage games of the season in the playoffs.

His lowest passing yardage game was in the national championship where he completed 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two TDs. Despite having lower yardage that game, he had his highest QBR of the year at 99.1.

Many people deserve credit for the Buckeyes' turnaround, and Will Howard did not hesitate to give it to his coach. However, Howard was also a huge part of their championship win. Without him stepping up, it is unlikely they would have had the same success.