Will Howard recalls importance of beating Penn State due to high school recruitment: 'It felt damn good'

Will Howard‘s circuitous collegiate journey came full-circle when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected the Pennsylvania native in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft late last month. It was an extremely emotional moment for the national championship-winning Ohio State quarterback.

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Howard had long dreamed of playing for his homestate Penn State. But that opportunity never materialized for the 2020 three-star recruit from Downingtown West, according to On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Instead, Howard signed with Kansas State out of high school and spent four seasons in Manhattan before transferring to Ohio State ahead of the Buckeyes’ 2025 national championship-winning season.

But it was because of that perceived slight from the Nittany Lions that Howard took so much personal gratification in the Buckeyes’ 20-13 win in Happy Valley last season.

“That was awesome. Going into that game, I was very mentally like … I put a lot of pressure on myself. And I didn’t play well that day, but we willed ourselves to win, and that was a big defining moment for us as a team,” Howard said on a recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast. “But, for me, I learned a lot from that game, because I was like, ‘Just because it means a lot to me, I can’t make one game bigger than another.’ I learned a lot from that game, and I didn’t play my best, but we scrapped out a win. And it was sweet. It felt damn good.”

Of course, Howard was hardly a liability, completing 16-of-24 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns to one interception in the victory. In fact, after a bit of a slow start, Howard settled down with back-to-back scoring drives to put the Buckeyes on top with 20-plus-yard touchdown passes to Emeka Egbuka and Brandon Inniss for a 14-10 lead less than 5 minutes into the second quarter Nov. 2, 2024.

Will Howard admits he held ill will against Penn State from recruiting over him

Will Howard admitted he held a bit of a grudge when it came to Penn State. It took five years, but Howard got his chance against the Nittany Lions when he played for Ohio State this past season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wanted to go to Penn State, was recruited by Penn State out of high school, but was ultimately passed over. With not many Power Five offers, and the Big Ten offers coming from the likes of Rutgers and Maryland, plus Ivy League schools like Yale, Howard ended up at Kansas State.

Following a successful tenure, he played his final season at Ohio State, beat Penn State and ended up winning a national title. Safe to say, Howard was waiting for that moment.

“I only had five Power Five offers coming out, I wasn’t like a super highly recruited guy,” Howard said on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “I felt like I should have been more highly recruited. I got my first offer after my sophomore year of high school. I got it from Rutgers, and I was like, okay, you know, now that maybe the flood gates will open and then I don’t get a bunch of more offers. And after that … it took a while. I think I got an offer from Yale, and then it took until, the problem is, my junior year, I got hurt … It was halfway through the year, I broke my arm, and so I was out for the year … and that was that kind of derailed my recruitment a little bit … 

“After that, I never heard from Penn State again. I went up and visited them … Always wanted to go to Penn State. My dad went there, you know, my sister goes there now, like I always wanted to go to Penn State. I was ‘We Are,’ blue and white, you know, till I die, kind of deal. And that was always my dream. When they stopped talking to me, they took a commit, Micah Bowens, who was like a dual threat guy from Bishop Gorman.”

— On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this report.