Ohio State quarterback Will Howard sealed his team’s blowout win in the Rose Bowl with a kiss.
After Howard, 23, and the Buckeyes dominated the Oregon Ducks 41-21 on Wednesday, January 1, the quarterback made his way over to his girlfriend, Lauren Leiker, for a smooch.
Howard flipped his brand new Rose Bowl Champions hat backwards and leaned in for the kiss, which was captured by ESPN social media. The move was complimented by Kelly Stafford, wife of Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford, who wrote via her Instagram Story: “Have always said it…Backwards hat = easy access 👏👏👏”
While Howard mostly keeps his personal life close to the vest, he posted a picture with Leiker via Instagram in April 2023. At the time of the post, Howard was still the quarterback at Kansas State.
Howard transferred to Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season, where he has helped lead the Buckeyes to the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Ohio State will play Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10 with a trip to the National Championship Game on the line.
Outside of the kiss with his girlfriend, the post-game celebration came with a side of awkwardness for Howard.
Despite being the team’s starting quarterback, Rose Bowl officials denied Howard entrance to the stage for the trophy presentation.
In a clip that circulated on social media, Howard could be seen asking an official for permission to join his teammates for the postgame gathering.
“That’s the starting quarterback!” Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams pleaded.
Howard seemingly had a good sense of humor about the entire ordeal, laughing as he told people nearby, “They’re blocking me!”
“Guys, there’s a weight limit apparently,” Howard said. He added, “They’re literally blocking me out.”
Howard eventually was able to make his way to the stage, where he tossed out celebratory roses to commemorate the big win.
“We came out and played angry and I think it showed,” Howard told reporters after the game. “We jumped out to an early lead and it was hard for them to come back.”
Howard continued, “We knew they were going to come back and do something, they’re too good of a team to not score any points. We knew they were going to mount some sort of a comeback. It wasn’t going to be perfect so we just had to weather the storm and make sure that we won the game when it counted.”
The quarterback threw for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win, a revenge victory for the Buckeyes after Oregon defeated them 32-31 earlier in the season.
“It’s unbelievable,” Howard told reporters after the game. “A younger me would be in awe and I just got to take it all in and enjoy this with my boys and we got two more [games], so we’re not done yet.”
Ohio State and Texas will battle in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 pm ET. The winner will face either Penn State or the winner of the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, January 2 between Notre Dame and Georgia in the National Championship Game on Monday, January 20.
