Ohio State's Will Howard lands new Bronco through NIL deal

Will Howard entered the transfer portal in December, looking for a spot where he could fine tune his game before the NFL.

The former Kansas State transfer did not rush his process. He took visits to Miami and USC before heading to Ohio State. The trip to Columbus convinced him the Buckeyes were the right program, giving him the chance to work with Ryan Day. He committed while finishing up his official visit.

Now at Ohio State, Howard is gearing up for the Buckeyes’ spring game this weekend. He’ll be arriving in style, too. The Ohio State-driven NIL collective The Foundation announced the quarterback received the keys to a new Bronco through his partnership with the donor-led organization.

Through his work with the collective, the former All-Big 12 quarterback will promote charities in exchange for signing on as an ambassador to The Foundation and driving the Bronco around for the year season. The NIL collective has a partnership with Ricart Automotive, which provides the vehicle.

Will Howard settling in at Ohio State

A veteran quarterback, Howard touts a 14-11 record in 25 career starts. His best season came this past fall, throwing for 2,643 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing a career-high 61.3% of his passes.

“I think a lot of it has to do with just hanging out outside of the facility, you know, and even in the facility,” Howard said about settling into the Ohio State locker room. “Just chopping it up with guys – and guys I wouldn’t normally talk to. Whatever. I’m probably not going to hang with D-lineman that much. But trying to hang out around J.T. [Tuimoloau] and Jack [Sawyer] and those guys, and just developing these relationships. Step by step. That’s how it has to start. Because once we get out on the field, that’s when it’s go-time.”

Howard led the Wildcats to a 31-28 overtime victory against previously unbeaten TCU in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game. Howard inherits a talent-packed wide receiver room that includes Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2024 class, Jeremiah Smith.

Thanks to our student athlete partnership with @whoward_ we provided him a new @ricart Bronco to pull up to the Spring game in style! Go Bucks! pic.twitter.com/apbUXG28Ji

— THE Foundation (@TheFoundation1_) April 9, 2024

Buckeyes’ NIL operations in top echelon

The Foundation launched in April 2022, started by Brian Schottenstein and former Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones. Along with the other Buckeye-centric collective, The 1870 Society, Ohio State has emerged as one of the strongest NIL markets in college football.

Operating a high-functioning collective has become necessary to retain and attract talent, with the top-funded organizations operating on a budget of $10 million and more. Most sit between the $4 to $8 million range.

Following three consecutive losses to Michigan and seeing the Wolverines win the national title, Ohio State has fully embraced the transfer portal, using the portal to refine and upgrade its roster, setting the stage for major expectations in the 2024 season. Winning in free agency comes with a strong NIL infrastructure.

Sources previously told On3 that the Buckeyes are operating in the top echelon of college football. When On3 released its second edition of the Top 20 Most Ambitious NIL Collectives this past summer, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas and Oregon sat at the top. All four continue to sit near the top of the field, along with Florida State, Ole Miss and Louisville.

Ohio State has clearly crashed the party, too. Landing two of the top quarterbacks available and the defining running back in this transfer portal cycle does not just simmer down to facilities and the opportunity to win championships anymore. Making competitive financial offers now matters.

Caleb Downs was the cherry on top of the Ohio State transfer portal class. The Foundation was one of the first accounts on social media to announce the safety had committed to the Buckeyes. The organization’s website even went down for a few minutes because of an increase in traffic.