Jack Sawyer recalls first time he watched Will Howard play

Former Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer was a Will Howard fan far before he ever joined the Buckeyes. During an appearance on Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Sawyer reflected on his first impression of OSU’s eventual QB1.

“The first time I ever saw Will play, we were all hanging out, me and some of my best friends from Ohio State watching Kansas State play,” Sawyer said. “We’re watching them and this quarterback keeps making plays. We’re Iike, damn, this guy’s 6’4”, 240, you ran for like a 100 yards that game or something, threw a couple touchdowns and he got up one time and was flexing over a guy. I’m like, ‘Man, this guy’s kind of badass. I kind of like this guy.’

“We started rooting for him the rest of the night and then it’s funny how fate has its way. Fast forward to the end of my junior year and I’m going through the process of coming back… [I’m] talking to Coach Day and I was like, ‘What’s the quarterback situation going to be?’

“… Coach Day just kind of smiled. He’s like, ‘We got the guy.’ And I was like, ‘Who?’ He was like, ‘I can’t really say anything yet but I think we’re going to get Will Howard. So I was like, ‘Oh wow, the guy from K-State? He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ And I was like, ‘No sh*t.'”

The rest is history. With Will Howard leading the offense and Jack Sawyer conducting the defense, the Buckeyes were unstoppable in the College Football Playoff.

No team in the CFP finished within a single score of Ohio State. The Oregon Ducks, who defeated OSU earlier in the year, are included in that group. The Buckeyes steam-rolled Oregon 41-21 in the CFP quarterfinals.

Now, Howard and Sawyer will have a chance to continue to build their legacies together at the next level. The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Sawyer with the No. 123 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and then picked up Howard just 62 picks later.

Both of them could be significant contributors for the Steelers this season. Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is excited to see what Howard is capable of.

“I’m really excited about this pick,” Roethlisberger said. “Don’t know him. Heard some really good things about him. I just saw the clip that has been going around … You see tears coming down his face. I mean to me, that’s a love of the game, not caring where you’re getting drafted, not caring what round you’re getting drafted, being excited to get to the NFL. I think that that is what you want.”