Ever since his arrival at OSU from Kansas State, Will Howard tried to understand and forge a connection with the community. He was almost in tears and choked up during the post-game presser following the defeat to Michigan. And now after leading the Buckeyes to their first national title in a decade, he has etched his name in Ohio State folklore. The win over Notre Dame was a special occasion, but it was even more precious for Katelyn Weirich, a nine-year-old girl bravely battling cancer.

Howard brought an end to his collegiate career in the most fitting way and bid goodbye to OSU in an emotional video, where he thanked everyone from the coaches to the fanbase. While the Buckeyes fans will miss his strong plays on the gridiron, his off-field persona will also leave a big hole in Columbus. His gesture for Katelyn Weirich, will just add to his legend and endear him even more to the passionate fanbase.

Weirich, who had been battling cancer for the previous 5 years approached Howard in the BuckeyeThon for the fans last year. She was seen asking for Howard’s autograph. And, Howard has all the words of admiration for the girl.

He said, “She was so funny. She kept coming over with new things for me to sign. She’s like hey sign this for my pastor, sign this for my grandma, I was just like; I love this girl. She inspired me.” Not only did Howard sign autographs for her but his powerful and emotional gesture will melt the hearts of even his most staunchest critics.

Tara Weirich, Katelyn’s mother, has a friend with ties to the Buckeyes and came up with the idea to gift Howard a bracelet supporting their little girl that he could wear during the national championship. Weirich’s friend and neighbor Brittny Hausfeld started her company “One Day and Co” after her son Perry was diagnosed with leukemia.

Hausfeld made a bunch of bracelets, not knowing whether Howard would be allowed to wear one or which color he wanted. As the game got underway, Tara and others were looking for a glimpse of the bracelet on Howard’s arm, and guess what? The QB was wearing the bracelet given to him.

“When we saw that, it was just like wow, that is amazing that he is wearing that bracelet,” Tara Weirich said. Well, he not only wore the bracelet given by Katelyn’s parents in the game but also was seen wearing the same bracelet in later press conferences, autograph signings, etc. And, this gesture not only moved Katelyn’s parents but Tara also has all the praise for Howard.

Katelyn’s mother reflected on the moment, “They thought it would be really cool if we brought something for Will to ask him, you know, to show his support for her on the field and do you know anybody that makes bracelets? And I thought, well, yeah, you know”. 

Talking about his gesture, Howard said, “Going into that last game, hearing what she was dealing with, I just wanted to get it done for her.” Again Howard tugged at the heartstrings with his words as Tara said she felt “special” at these words. Howard had the perfect parting gift for OSU and as it turns out, the game carried extra significance for him and he made sure to show his support for his young fan.

As for Katelyn getting an autograph from Will Howard means so much to her. Talking about it she mentioned, “This stays in my room every night, and I look at it and think of that day at BuckeyeThon.”

Not for the first time, Howard has shown how much the Ohio community and the program mean to him. But now, he has his NFL future to look forward to after capping of an impressive tenure with OSU.

Will Howard’s future going forward

Howard had an incredible season with Ohio State, where he led the team to the natty final against Notre Dame and then eventually lifted the trophy. He finished the game with 17 pass completions with an astounding 81% pass completion rate scoring two incredible touchdowns. Furthermore, his season with the Buckeyes has been nothing short of remarkable.

In his last season, he parted with an almost 73% pass completion rate for a stellar 4,010 passing yards. Howard in his final message thanked all the Buckeyes fans, staff members, his coach, and the players, “Thank you, Coach (Ryan) Day, for believing in me, when not a lot of others did. Thank you, Coach (Chip) Kelly, for pushing me to be the best that I can be every single day. I’ve got to give so much credit to those two guys, and Billy Fessler is one of the guys who doesn’t get a lot of credit.  He did an unbelievable job developing me this year. And thank you to all the other coaches and staff that helped in my development here at The Ohio State University. And finally, thank you to Buckeye Nation for embracing me from day one“.

Well, now that he has left for the NFL draft, let’s see what lies ahead for him.

Howard is currently ranked as the number 7 quarterback overall. The other QBs making the cut above him are Shedeur Sanders at first, Cam Ward at second, and Jalen Milroe at third, among others. In terms of his draft pick, a majority of analysts believe he will not be picked in the 1st round.

However, that doesn’t mean that he is not a lucrative option to get picked in the 2nd or third rounds. Nevertheless, 1st round or not, he is an Ohio State hero both on and off the field, and he will be remembered with great admiration in years to come.