Looking back at CFP national championship quarterbacks Riley Leonard and Will Howard's impressive high school basketball careers

Notre Dame's Riley Leonard and Ohio State's Will Howard were the quarterbacks on the opposing sides in the CFP national championship game on Monday. The two quarterbacks have been instrumental in their teams’ run to the national championship game.

Leonard passed for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns over the course of the season, with an additional 906 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns. Similarly, Howard ended his season with 4,010 passing yards and 35 touchdowns, adding 226 rushing yards on 105 carries for seven touchdowns.

Howard and the Buckeyes were crowned champions after a 34-23 victory over Leonard and the Fighting Irish. Nonetheless, it was an impressive season for the dual-threat quarterback and his fellow Irish.

Before their bid for the national championship glory on Monday, Riley Leonard and Will Howard had high school careers that involved more than just football. Both were standout basketball prospects in high school.

Will Howard was a two-sport athlete at Downingtown West High School in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He was instrumental in the school reaching the state tournament in 2017 before his graduation in 2020. He reached the 1,000 career points milestone for Downingtown West in January 2020 as a senior. He would enroll at Kansas State later that month, focusing on football for his college career.

In the same vein, Riley Leonard starred as a basketball prospect at Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Alabama. He led the school to a 27-2 record as a senior, surpassing the 2,000 career points milestone. Leonard’s basketball skills earned him offers from basketball programs, including Alabama-Birmingham, Missouri State and Saint Mary’s.

However, he pivoted to football for college after receiving offers from top college football programs, including Duke, where he later enrolled in 2021. He had hoped he could play for the Coach K-led Duke basketball team as a walk-on, but the legendary coach soon left after Leonard’s arrival, and it was not to be.

How did Riley Leonard and Will Howard perform at the national championship game?

2025 CFP National Championship - Source: Getty

The national championship game featured impressive performances from Riley Leonard and Will Howard. Leonard opened the scoring for Notre Dame with a 1-yard touchdown run before Howard threw an 8-yard touchdown pass caught by Jeremiah Smith. Howard threw another touchdown pass over six yards to Quinshon Judkins in the second quarter to bring the Buckeyes to 21 points.

2025 CFP National Championship - Source: Getty

Leonard went on to throw two consecutive touchdown passes for Jaden Greathouse over 34 yards and 30 yards, respectively.