Would Will Howard Have Made Notre Dame a National Champion?

Notre Dame opted for Riley Leonard instead of the quarterback who beat them in the national championship game

Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) on the podium after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Notre Dame may be 0-2 right now but just nine months ago it played Ohio State for the National Championship. In that game the Buckeyes got off to a hot start thanks to a red hot offense and held off a late Notre Dame charge to become champions.

A lot was made of two transfer quarterbacks leading their teams to national championship game appearances before the contest, as Riley Leonard got Notre Dame there in just one season, just like Will Howard did for Ohio State.

Leonard of course came to Notre Dame after starring at Duke while Howard wound up in Columbus after a successful few years at Kansas State.

Will Howard Reveals He Was Almost Notre Dame's Quarterback

Nov 25, 2023; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas State Wildcats quarterback Will Howard (18) celebrates a touchdown in the third quarter against the Iowa State Cyclones at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

Howard is now a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers and joined Cam Heyward, another former Buckeye on the Not Just Football podcast. Howard shared that while in the transfer portal following the 2023 regular season, that he wanted to commit to Notre Dame.

However, Notre Dame wouldn't take him because it had just landed a commitment from then-Duke star Riley Leonard. Howard went into detail about that, and the motivation it provided ahead of the national championship game during the episode.

Will Howard told @NotJustFootball he wanted to commit to Notre Dame. The day he decided, his agent told him it was too late. The Irish took Riley Leonard.

Howard and Ohio State beat ND in the natty.

“That pissed me off…extra motivation, anything I can get, that gave it to me.” pic.twitter.com/U0ujPiLrup

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 18, 2025

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

That's great that Will Howard was able to use his experience as motivation but let's get real here for a minute.

Notre Dame chose correctly in going with Riley Leonard over him. Yes, Howard wound up winning the national championship with Ohio State, but do you think for a second that Notre Dame gets to the College Football Playoff at all, let alone the the National Championship Game with him instead of Leonard?

As you're finding out this year, Leonard is incredibly missed by Notre Dame. None more than when the Irish face a third or fourth and short, and the quarterback run is essentially out of the playbook.

Yes, Howard was athletic. No, he wasn't anywhere near what Riley Leonard was athletically.

Leonard was the perfect quarterback for Notre Dame last year. He might not have been a fantastic passer but a great passer who had average running ability would have been a waste for the 2024 Fighting Irish.

Now, if Howard could have somehow brought star Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith or some of the other wide-out talent with him, then that's another question. Notre Dame's receivers last season (and this season for that matter) wouldn't have been good enough to make Howard appear special, like Ohio State's were.

As uplifting as it is to hear Howard call out former Notre Dame general manager Chad Bowden in the clip (now at USC), it's hard to imagine Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish getting anywhere near last season's National Championship Game without Leonard.