For former Ohio State national championship-winning quarterback Will Howard, playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers became his obsession following an initial conversation during the draft process.
Now he gets to live it.
As rookie minicamp wrapped up Sunday, Howard is along for the ride in proving the Steelers made the right decision after essentially being overlooked his entire career. In doing so, he recognizes he has a lot of work to do, but he wants it to be known that Pittsburgh is where he should be.
"After my experiences with Coach [Mike] Tomlin and everybody from the Steelers at the NFL combine, I had a formal interview with them there," Howard told Steelers.com. "And then Coach and [offensive coordinator] Arthur [Smith] and [general manager] Omar [Khan] all had dinner with us for our pro day."
The dinner went well enough that Howard said he could be more open about his ideal fit, making the Steelers a natural connection.
"After those two interactions, you never know what's going to happen in this process, but I wanted to be a Steeler," Howard said. "Coach Tomlin, I want to play for him."
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Once the Steelers selected Howard late last month, the Pennsylvania native's mindset shifted.
"Ever since I was a little kid, this has been my dream," Howard said. "I remember writing something in first grade what I wanted to be when I grew up. It's always been, I want to be a professional athlete. Through this whole process, my parents and I were talking about the grind, and you never know how things can go. Through it all, I wanted to remember what younger me would be thinking. And I really am blessed."
With the dream a reality, Howard said he is ready to thrive for the Steelers.
"I ended up in the perfect spot for me. It's a match made in heaven. I was so fired up when I got that call, and I heard Omar's voice. I was like, man this just could not be better," Howard said.
For now, his work has just begun.