Ohio State quarterback Will Howard leaned on Chip Kelly’s words to find his sense of self

LOS ANGELES — Ohio State quarterback Will Howard tossed long-stemmed roses to the crowd from the stage where Ohio State had just received its Rose Bowl trophy.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly wasn’t on that stage after the 41-21 rout of Oregon, but he was among the crowd in the background and taking in the success — exactly where he likes to be.

Kelly doled out a piece of advice to Howard that led to Howard’s 319 passing yards and no turnovers in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game on Wednesday evening, which was just short of his career-best 326 yards.

“He said, ‘Let the game come to you,’” Howard recalled. “Don’t make anything happen. Just let it happen. I’ve learned over the last year that I don’t have to be Superman and I don’t have to do anything special.”

Oregon football fans created a monosyllabic soundtrack for the Rose Bowl introductions, offering a resounding “YEAH” when an Oregon player appeared on the video board. Ohio State players received a lengthy, bass-toned “BOO” from the crowd, and no player received a deeper jeer than the Buckeyes’ quarterback.

But Howard provided more agony than entertainment for the Ducks over the next two quarters, putting up 269 yards.

Howard — under the tutelage of Kelly, the former UCLA and Oregon head coach — was potentially looking at a backup quarterback position in the NFL unless he could rapidly improve his draft stock. His performance on Wednesday might garner some attention.

“A lot of people think that in big games, I don’t take care of the football or I don’t show up in big games and I’m not an elite quarterback,” Howard told reporters.

“I’d like to think of myself as one of the best quarterbacks in the country and when I got guys around me that are doing what they’re doing, I don’t have to do much. I just got to put it up and give them a chance.”

The quarterback helped create a momentous return to Rose Bowl Stadium for Kelly, who left UCLA on a low note after he struggled to guide the Bruins to success in their final Pac-12 conference season last year.

At Ohio State, he can focus solely on football and not NIL collectives, countless meetings, media interactions and all of the other responsibilities that a head coach at the college level has to handle. He can have fun again — and Howard fed off of that.

“He’s a funny guy,” Howard said of Kelly earlier in the week. “He likes to have fun and I love that. Being able to be locked in and grinding, but also being able to have fun while we’re doing it and joke around a little bit.”

Howard sent touchdown passes of 45 and 43 yards to freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith in that first half and another 42-yard strike to Emeka Ogbuka.

Smith had already notched his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season by halftime and teamed up with Howard to get the Buckeyes out of a bind in the third quarter.

Oregon scored two unanswered touchdowns and was driving toward another when Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer broke up a pass and sacked quarterback Dillon Gabriel to put the ball back in Howard’s hands at the 44-yard line.

Kelly let Howard loose on the field, the quarterback firing off short passes connecting with Smith on 10- and 16-yard passes to keep the chains moving. TreVeyon Henderson polished off the scoring drive shortly after with an 8-yard rushing touchdown.

“I thought Chip called an aggressive game and certainly had a big smile on his face after,” head coach Ryan Day told reporters. “I thought the whole offensive staff worked hard to put the plan together but ultimately it comes down to the players putting it on the field.”

Ohio State (12-2) had the chance to reshape its identity in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. The Buckeyes hadn’t won a Big Ten championship since 2020 and hadn’t beaten rival Michigan since 2019, putting pressure on head coach Ryan Day and his team to have a lengthy playoff run.

With a new sense of self unlocked — and the guidance of Kelly — Howard is making that happen.