Will Howard's Ohio State football message reveals how much Ryan Day meant to him

Zain Bando

Will Howard's Ohio State football message reveals how much Ryan Day meant to him image

Former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard will always leave parts of his athletic journey in Columbus, Ohio, where last season's magic saw Howard's Buckeyes win a national title. Not only was it Ryan Day's first as coach, alongside the program's first in a decade, but it meant even more to the Kansas State transfer.

Overlooked throughout his career thus far, Howard wanted to reassure Buckeye Nation it would never forget him.

According to 10TV's Adam King, Howard's message about what Ohio State meant to him is now permanent inside the Buckeyes football facilities. 

"They've changed my life in more ways than I can say, man," Howard's quote reads. "Coach Day and these guys here have completely changed my life. I've been developed here like I've never been developed before."

Howard had a prolific season in Columbus, throwing 11 more touchdowns than his final season in Manhattan, but the same number of interceptions. Nevertheless, he delivered on a big stage when it mattered most, knocking off Tennessee, Oregon and Texas en route to the national title game.

Howard proved he can win at the collegiate level, but doing so in the NFL is another question. It may have to take some time, as the recent addition of Aaron Rodgers demonstrates a clear direction the Pittsburgh Steelers are going in.

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Despite that, it seems Howard is always going to remember his time at Ohio State as magical. It's also safe to assume that he will be back for several visits over the next few years to reflect upon one of his best years of his career thus far.

For now, his NFL career has just begun

Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Wednesday nights and Friday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).