"You have to block all that out": Will Howard makes his feelings known on TV timeouts 

Quarterback Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes successfully captured the National Championship with a 34-23 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Howard had some of his best performances of the year in the college football playoff. The bright lights did not appear to affect Howard as his QBR of 99.1 in the National Championship Game was his highest of the year.

Howard spoke after the game about the importance of keeping his composure in big games. Notably, he discussed how players often struggle with long TV timeouts. However, he was able to overcome those issues and had an excellent performance.

"Speaking of that I feel like it can be a lot. The lights are bright. It’s a spectacle," Howard said (via On3). "And the TV timeouts are like four minutes long and it feels like everything is kind of a show a little bit. But you have to block all that out. We talked about that all week: Eliminate all the distractions. Don’t listen to any of the outside noise, just finish the job."

Will Howard then went on to discuss what it meant for the team to keep its composure in the National Championship Game.

"When you get into big games like this, whoever is able to have the poise in the noise and overcome adversity because it wasn’t always pretty today, it wasn’t always perfect, and it’s never going to be the team that we have and the leadership that we have with coach, with just the resilience this team has shown all year, it’s just unbelievable."

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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day discusses what Will Howard meant to the program

The National Championship Game was the last game Will Howard would play in an Ohio State Buckeyes uniform. He is out of NCAA eligibility and as a result, he will enter the 2025 NFL draft. After the game, Ryan Day spoke about what Howard has meant to the program.

"It started with me when I first met Will," Day said (via On3). "I just saw something in him, a football IQ and intelligence.

"I saw him play on film at Kansas State and win championships and win big games and be able to make an impact with his feet, but also throw with accuracy and anticipate throws. And those are things that are hard to find. Then you see a guy, you meet him and just his football IQ and maturity is what kind of captured me."

Will Howard is the 99th-ranked player in the draft according to Pro Football Focus.