{"id":33130,"date":"2025-05-08T07:34:13","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/33130\/"},"modified":"2025-05-08T07:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T07:34:13","slug":"will-howard-says-he-really-really-wanted-steelers-to-draft-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/33130\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Howard Says He ‘Really, Really Wanted’ Steelers To Draft Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers waited longer than some thought they would, but the team drafted a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Ohio State\u2019s Will Howard. For Howard, it was a dream accomplished, being able to hear your name called and become an NFL player. But for him, it was extra exciting going to the Steelers, the team that Howard said he really wanted to end up with. On the latest episode of Ben Roethlisberger\u2019s Footbahlin podcast<\/a>, Howard said that \u201csomething about\u201d the Steelers organization made him want to end up in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw it in the Hey Rookie episode I did, I was begging for the Steelers to pick me. When you\u2019re going through the draft process, you know, especially as a quarterback, there are only a couple of teams that are most likely gonna pick you. Probably a group of ten. But there was something deep inside me that just really, really wanted to be a Steeler,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy to be in my home state. I\u2019m close to Columbus, close to my family\u2026so we\u2019re staying close to home and everyone in the organization. I met with them at the Combine. I met with them before Pro Day. There was something about it that just stuck with me, and I really wanted to be a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Howard met with the Steelers at Ohio State\u2019s Pro Day, he spoke glowingly about it and said he \u201creally liked\u201d<\/a> head coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. That meeting, and the meeting he held with the team at the NFL Combine previously, seemed to stick with Howard, and clearly the Steelers as well. Now, he\u2019ll have the opportunity to join a quarterback room with no long-term established starter and look to prove he can be that guy.<\/p>\n

In a clip from the NFL Films docuseries<\/a>\u00a0Hey Rookie, Welcome To The NFL, Howard was seen hoping that the Steelers would draft him.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t just because the Steelers were a QB-needy team and he wanted to hear his name called. It\u2019s because he wanted to come to Pittsburgh and be a part of the organization.<\/p>\n

For the most part, players are excited no matter where they end up. Getting drafted is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work paying off and having a dream realized. However, for Howard, it could be extra special to go to a place that he felt an affinity for and clearly feels is a good place for him to succeed as he begins his NFL journey.<\/p>\n

His college head coach, Ryan Day, also praised the organization<\/a> and said he was pleased that it was where Howard ended up. The Steelers are a premier brand in the NFL, and Mike Tomlin is one of the most well-respected head coaches in the league. The Rooney Family has been a staple of the NFL, and it\u2019s clearly an organization that Howard respects.<\/p>\n

While it will be an uphill battle for him to see significant playing time as a rookie, Will Howard seems motivated and excited to be a Steeler, and it\u2019s a selection that\u2019s drawn almost universal praise. Whether or not Howard ends up developing into a starting quarterback for the Steelers, he\u2019s right where he wants to be right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers waited longer than some thought they would, but the team drafted a quarterback in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[6594,12193,7,6,69,691,2183],"class_list":{"0":"post-33130","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ben-roethlisberger","9":"tag-footbahlin","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-nfl","12":"tag-ohio-state-buckeyes","13":"tag-trending","14":"tag-will-howard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114471060475475161","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}