Former Kansas State's Will Howard Has Bold Message For NFL Owners Ahead Of Draft

National champion Will Howard had his doubters ahead of the Ohio State title run.

It's what fueled him and the Buckeyes to win their first championship since 2015 and continues to fuel him ahead of the NFL Draft. Howard is on a mission as he heads to the pros, proving his skeptics wrong with a squad like the Pittsburgh Steelers or New Orleans Saints.

"I feel like my whole career I've been overlooked," Howard said. "I didn't have an offer from Pitt, Syracuse, Boston College, Penn State, Duke or Carolina. None of those schools offered me. I was trying for years. I went to Kansas State, and I said, 'I wanna prove those people wrong.' I hope Penn State looks back and says, 'Damn, we missed out on Will Howard.' When I get to the NFL, I don't want you guys to miss out on me. Every single team that picks a quarterback in front of me, I'm gonna make it my mission to make sure they regret not picking me."

The former Kansas State quarterback said the outside misbelief pushed him to succeed in Manhattan, KS. Even for his underwhelming Wildcats tenure, Howard says he doesn't regret his career outcome.

"When coach (Ryan) Day came and met with me, he said, 'I believe that you can be the guy that can lead us to the national title,'" Howard said on Gruden's QB Class. "I said, 'I'm not gonna let you down.' I love being the underdog, and when people don't expect me to go out and do things, I do it. I think that's the story of me being in the Draft this year. I wouldn't rather be in any other place that I'm at."

Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.