"Nothing came close": Will Howard shares thought process behind choosing Ohio State over USC and Miami

Will Howard might not be as talented as former Ohio State passers Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, but he's got something that they don't — a College Football Playoff national championship. As a transfer from Kansas State last offseason, Howard had to decide on where he'd move on to play.

After talking to Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, Howard was sold on wearing the scarlet and gray.

"For a one-year, plug-and-play kind of deal, nothing came close to Ohio State," Howard said Thursday on Ryen Russillo's podcast. "And I felt like when I started talking to Coach Day and Coach Day says, 'We believe that you're the guy that can come in here and lead us to a national championship.' That's all I needed."

Howard had other notable options in some of the nation's premier programs. He explained his thought process on why he landed in Columbus.

"When it kind of came down to it, it was really Miami, USC, Ohio State, and then the draft," Howard said. "I want to go somewhere where I feel like I can develop as a quarterback and improve my draft stock and compete for a national championship. You know, Miami had a favorable schedule. You know, they had a really good offense. You know, but I just felt like at the end of the day, it wasn't the right place for me.

"USC, the draw was Lincoln (Riley). I felt like he's one of the most elite quarterback developers and maybe if I had like two or three years of eligibility left, I'd go there."

Why did Ohio State get Will Howard?

Ohio State's starting signal-caller the previous season, Kyle McCord, explained why he decided to transfer out of the Buckeyes' program on an episode of "The QB Room" with Kyle Allen and Jordan Palmer in January 2024.

McCord's departure opened the door for Day to find someone else to operate the attack, and Howard looked the part.

“You guys know it just as well as I do, at the end of the day, the top level of college football and then especially onto the pros, it’s a business," McCord said. "At the end of the day, Ohio State had to make a business decision that they felt was best for them, and I had to do the same thing.

"And unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be for next year. But at the end of the day, I felt like I put together some solid games, had some good tape, so I was confident when I went in the portal, I would find a good home.”

At Syracuse, McCord wound up leading the entire country with 4,779 passing yards, while Howard ranked sixth with 4,010.