Ohio State's Will Howard seemingly wills Steelers into drafting him
In a clip shared by the NFL previewing the next episode of "Hey Rookie: Welcome to the NFL," Howard pleaded for the Steelers to select him as he watched the final rounds of the draft with family and friends.
"Please pick me, please," Howard said in the clip. "Please pick me, Pittsburgh."
The next shot of the edited clip shows Howard getting a phone call from the Steelers, informing him that Pittsburgh is drafting him with the 185th overall pick.
"Are you ready to be a Steeler?" an unidentified member of the Steelers' organization asked Howard.
"F-----g right, man," Howard said with a grin as he slapped the tabletop next to him in excitement. "Let's go!"
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin eventually took the phone to chat with Howard.
"I'm doing great, coach," Howard replied when Tomlin asked how he was doing. "How are you?"
"Hey, man. Congratulations, man, to you," Tomlin told Howard. "You deserve it, man. To your family, you guys enjoy it today."
Howard, who grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, told Tomlin that his family was set to change their NFL allegiance.
"All Eagles fans, but now they're gonna be some damn Steelers fans in this world," Howard said with a laugh while his family applauded around him.
When the pick was officially announced on the broadcast of the draft, Howard got emotional. He teared up as he hugged his mother, Maureen. A few moments later, he and the rest of his family ran to the backyard and jumped into their pool in excitement.
As Howard's football career brings him back to Pennsylvania, he had moved closer to home this past college football season. He transferred from Kansas State to Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season, a move that paid major dividends. He led Ohio State to a national championship, standing out in all four of its College Football Playoff wins. He threw for 1,150 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions in the postseason, finishing the year with 4,010 passing yards, 42 total touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Howard started 27 games at Kansas State. He was named second-team All-Big 12 in 2023 before being named third-team All-Big Ten in 2024 and eventually won Offensive MVP of the national championship game this past season.
FOX Sports NFL Draft expert Rob Rang ranked Howard as his No. 101 top prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft, giving the Steelers a "B" grade for their draft haul as he liked Pittsburgh's selection of the former Ohio State quarterback. Howard figures to be a part of the Steelers' quarterback room this upcoming season as Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson (who Howard backed up at Kansas State) are the only other quarterbacks on Pittsburgh's roster as of Tuesday. The Steelers have still been strongly linked to free agent Aaron Rodgers.
Howard will also reunite with former Ohio State Jack Sawyer in Pittsburgh. The Steelers took Sawyer in the fifth round of the draft.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Giants-Jets joint practices: Day 1 live updates
The New York Giants return to work on Tuesday following Saturday's preseason-opening 34-25 victory over the Buffalo Bills. They jump right into the fire with what promises to be an intense, fully-padded practice against the New York Jets at the Jets' Florham Park practice facility. Follow along for live updates as Ed Valentine and Nick Falato will both be on hand. Check back post practice for all thew news and analysis Tuesday's practice is the first of back-to back joint practices against the Jets. Wednesday's practice will move to the Giants' facility in East Rutherford. Several Giants did not play in Saturday's game due to injury or other concerns from the Giants' medical staff. That list includes: RB Cam Skattebo, WR Malik Nabers, WR Darius Slayton, WR Jalin Hyatt, WR Beaux Collins, edge Chauncey Golston, DT, Dexter Lawrence, CB Cor'Dale Flott, CB Korie Black, CB Art Green, CB Tre Hawkins, LB Demetrius Flanningan-Fowles, G Evan Neal. At this time it is unknown if any of those players will participate in the joint practices. The teams play a preseason game at MetLife Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., with the Giants as the home team.
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
26 days until Saints season opener: Every player to wear No. 26
A Saints legend highlights a mostly unimpressive history of the No. 26 The New Orleans Saints will host the Arizona Cardinals in 26 days in their regular season opener. Veteran running back Cam Akers, a new addition to the squad, wears No. 26 for the Saints currently. Akers is in a battle for one of the running back spots and will be the 18th player in franchise history to wear No. 26 if he makes the team. Here's the full list of players. Saints' History of No. 26 The first in a No. 26 uniform for the Saints was Jimmy Hiedel, who suited up for all 14 games of the team's inaugural 1967 campaign with 13 starts and had 1 interception. Joe Don Looney was the first offensive player to wear the number, but only did so for three games and minus-5 yards in 1969. Margene Adkins followed two years later, catching just 9 passes in 14 games of light action. The first Saints draft choice to wear No. 26 was Steve Rogers, a Round 7 pick in 1975. An LSU graduate and native of Rustin, Rogers had 62 rushing yards in his only year with the team. Guido Merkens is best known as a versatile offensive tool, but actually started his career as a defensive back. Merkens came to New Orleans from the Houston Oilers in 1980. He played six years with the team, but only wore No. 26 during his first season before switching to his better-known 19. Merkens was among the first eight New Orleans players to wear No. 26 for two years or less, with only Willie Tullis (21 games) doing so for over a year. That streak was finally broken by Vince Buck, a second-round pick by the Saints in the 1990 NFL draft. Buck was with New Orleans for six years and 84 games, the third-longest of any player to wear the number. He was both a corner and safety, recording 10 interceptions with a score, 12 fumble recoveries, and 4.5 sacks. After Buck followed four more players to wear No. 26 over the next six seasons, with none wearing it for more than a year. Backs Lamar Smith and Fred McAfee each had production stretches with New Orleans, but neither wore No. 26 for longer than a season before switching to other numbers. Deuce McAllister was the 23rd selection in the first round of the 2001 NFL draft out of Mississippi. He is the highest drafted Saint to wear No. 26, with his 97 games over eight years also marking the most any Saints player has worn the No. 26 jersey. McAllister quickly made 1999 first round choice Ricky Williams expendable, forcing a trade during the 2002 offseason. Afterwards, McAllister would go on to be one of the best running backs in franchise history. McAllister would be the first Saints running back to rush for over 1,000 yards in three straight seasons, topping the plateau in four of five years. A string of knee injuries would cut his career short. However, McAllister's career 6,096 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns on the ground were the most in franchise history until topped by Mark Ingram in 2022, then Alvin Kamara last year. A fan favorite who has worked New Orleans games as a broadcaster for years, McAllister was inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2012. Following McAllister's official retirement in 2009, no New Orleans player would wear No. 26 until P.J. Williams. A third round draft choice in 2015, Williams would be with the Saints for seven seasons. His 89 games are only bested by McAllister among the players that wore No. 26. Williams was a versatile piece of the secondary as a Saint. He had 8 interceptions, returning 2 for touchdowns, while breaking up 33 passes and recording 4 sacks. Since Williams, Daniel Sorensen and Tra Fluellen combined for two games in the No. 26, both by Sorensen. Next up is Cam Akers, who comes to the Saints after some productive years with the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. Injuries have slowed Akers in recent seasons, but he looks to become the power complement to Kamara that the New Orleans backfield has lacked and hopefully give the offense another viable option as a runner.
Forbes
28 minutes ago
- Forbes
Terrell Davis On His Expectations For Denver Broncos: They Could Win 12 Or 13 Games
The Denver Broncos won't be slipping under the radar this season. The Broncos are coming off of a 10-7 season and their first playoff campaign since the 2015 season. The franchise — which struggled in finding a franchise quarterback and head coach — finally have their guys in Bo Nix and Sean Payton. To cap it all off, Denver has one of the top-ranked defensive units, led by reigning Defensive Player of the Year in Patrick Surtain Jr. It's the reason why Broncos great Terrell Davis believes the sky is the limit for this team. Davis — who won two Super Bowls with the franchise — says he wouldn't be shocked if they won 12 or 13 wins games this season. "Sean Payton is not afraid to talk Super Bowls," says Davis in a one-on-one interview. "He's been talking about it. I feel like this team could have whatever ceiling they set. I think they can certainly get to that." During Davis' rookie season in 1995, the Broncos went 8-8 in Mike Shanahan's first season as head coach. Fast forward a year later and Denver finished with an NFL-best 13-3 record. Over the course of the next two seasons, the Broncos defeated the NFC powerhouse Green Bay Packers — led by three-time MVP Brett Favre — and the 14-2 Atlanta Falcons to win back-to-back Super Bowls. The Hall of Fame running back says this team reminds him a little bit of the Broncos went they began to turn things around in the latter half of the 90's. "I've been hearing Super Bowl talk a lot around here, and it kind of reminds me of my team back in 1995 where my rookie season we went 8-8, and internally we felt like we were really good," says Davis. "The next year we went 13-3. We took a huge jump. We added some players, but it was the confidence in that room that made it feel like we were a better team than an 8-8 record — and we knew it." Despite Pro Football Focus grading the Broncos as having the worst roster in the NFL before the season started, Denver surprised everyone behind the stellar play of their rookie quarterback, Nix. The 25-year-old quarterback threw 29 touchdowns — second-most in NFL history for a rookie — and won the Rookie of the Week award three times. Nix also became the first rookie quarterback to post an 80% completion rate, 300-plus passing yards and four-plus touchdowns in a single game. The addition of a true young franchise quarterback complemented by the third-ranked defensive unit in the league made the Broncos into playoff contenders last season. Denver had a strong offseason that saw the team make major additions in former San Francisco 49ers defensive standouts such as Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga along with two-time Pro Bowl tight end Evan Engram. The Broncos also added a potential starting running back in All-American running back RJ Harvey out of UCF through the NFL draft. Davis goes so far as to not only say the Broncos could win 12 or 13 games, but they could make a deep playoff run this season. Winning 12 or 13 games would likely put them toe-to-toe with the Kansas City Chiefs for AFC West supremacy. "That's what it is on this level -- a lot of times it's the confidence of the team," says Davis. "They won 10 games last year. Can they go 12, can they go 13 games this year? I believe so. I would not be shocked to see this team not only make the playoffs, but make a deep run." While Davis is known for being one of the greatest running backs of all time, he keeps busy in his post-retirement life with golf. The former Super Bowl MVP hosted Bank of America's "Golf With Us" clinic on Monday in Denver. The first-year event sees athletes like Davis teach kids ages 6-18 golf skills and important lessons that will carry them through life. The 52-year-old teaches youth confidence, discipline and focus through the game of golf. More than 86,000 kids have enrolled in the program. "It's really designed to give more access to thousands of kids around the country," says Davis. "They've had 86,000 kids sign up for this Golf With Us program then and they now have access to golf courses, for $ know. That just shows the power of the program. I have never had that kind of access. It's really about trying to give people inclusion, growth of the game and joy." Davis — who says he's a "pretty good golfer" but not on the level of a Tony Romo — details why golf is such a great game for growth and camaraderie. "I am an avid golfer myself, and I often would say, 'Man, I wish I had picked up the game earlier,' because it's such a wonderful game," says Davis. "It's a game for life, relationships you make during this game. It's the one thing that I can do now and be competitive still at my age. Hopefully, God willing, I'll still be able to play golf until I'm 100 years old. The connections, the relationships, the fun you have with former teammates, friends, family, it is a wonderful game, and I am a golf fanatic." The former NFL MVP calls golf a "game of integrity" and says you can tell a lot about a man's character on the course. "The life skills you learn with golf — golf is a sport of integrity, man," says Davis. "It's a sport that a lot of times you have to do by yourself, and it's going to challenge you to do the right thing, you know. They always say you can tell a person's character, just play a round of golf with them. You're able to find out a lot about that person, integrity and the character of a person. But not only that, just the discipline the game provides, the teamwork, the focus, a lot of life skills that you learn on that course that you're going to take with you later on in life."
