While the Notre Dame football team isn't a traditional rival with Ohio State, that rivalry has sparked up over the years for various reasons. However, former Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard's recent revelation that he has a little bit of hate in his heart for the Fighting Irish was a bit of a surprise.
Howard, who played one season for OSU and led them to a National Title win over ND, recently appeared on the Not Just Football podcast hosted by Howard's Pittsburgh Steelers teammate and fellow former Buckeye Cam Heyward. Howard talked about several subjects, but right at the top of the list was his explanation as to why he had a chip on his shoulder against Marcus Freeman and Co.
"I thought I was gonna end up at Notre Dame," Howard said. "A lot of people don't know this. Like, this was very under wraps. But they ended up signing Riley (Leonard) right before I was about to commit. Like, I was about to commit that day, and I call my agent and he's like, 'Sorry buddy, they just told me they took Riley.'"
Will Howard says Notre Dame football snub gave him extra motivation in national title game
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.
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 18, 2025
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
Howard went on to say that the Irish taking Leonard blindsided him. And he was pretty angry about it. He used it as motivation to beat them in the title game, especially.
"They weren't even talking about him," Howard said. "So that pi---d me off. And a lot of people don't know that that had happened going into the national championship. So I remember the general manager was standing on the sideline right when we were warming up, and I was staring daggers through him the whole warmup. And I'm a chip-on-my-shoulder guy."
It is worth pointing out that the talk about Riley Leonard going to South Bend started up before the 2024 season was over. So, Howard being shocked by this is an interesting twist. Players and coaches are also known to use slights - real and imagined - to fire themselves up.
The Notre Dame football team would likely take Leonard 10 times out of 10 over Will Howard. But things certainly worked out for the former Buckeye.