A Notre Dame decision almost completely altered the Irish fortunes prior to their 2024 CFB Playoff run and trajectory of two programs

One Notre Dame decision could have completely altered the Fighting Irish future. Ohio State could have been impacted as well.

Ryan Roberts — National College Football Writer
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Former Ohio State Buckeye Will Howard on the sidelines before the Ohio State and Texas game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on Aug 30, 2025.

Although the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and head coach Marcus Freeman fell one victory short of a national championship last season, it was a year of great excitement, resiliency, and it provided a lot of positivity for the future of the program. The season was exemplified perfectly by starting quarterback Riley Leonard, who faced a lot of scrutiny following his early-season play. The former Duke transfer ended up being exactly what this team needed most, a great leader and dynamic athlete to make up for some supporting cast issues. 

It appears, however, that there was a strong chance that things could have turned out very differently. On a recent episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, former Ohio State and now Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Will Howard talked about his own transfer portal process prior to the 2024 season. He spoke about his relationship with Notre Dame with his new teammate. 

“I thought I was going to end up at Notre Dame,” Howard told Heyward. “A lot of people don’t know this. This was very under wraps, but they ended up signing Riley (Leonard) right before I was about to commit. I was about to commit that day. I called my agent, and he was like, ‘Sorry buddy, they just told me they took Riley.’ I was like what? They weren’t even talking about it so that pissed me off, and a lot of people didn’t know that had happened going into the national championship. So I remember the general manager was standing on the sideline right where I was warming up, and I was just staring daggers through him the whole warm up. I was pissed.”

From a behind the scenes perspective, I can verify that there was homework done on Howard during the process from his previous time at Kansas State, and contact was made. That was true of several quarterbacks, not just Leonard and Howard, either. During that quick portal process, however, Leonard was viewed as the top target for the Fighting Irish. It would have been fascinating to have seen how Coach Freeman and his staff handled it if Howard pulled the trigger first. 

There can be a conversation about whether Notre Dame was right or wrong with their fascination with the former Blue Devil star, but they knew which quarterback they wanted to lead the offense last season. It was Riley Leonard, no matter what. That decision ended up working out pretty well. 

Was it the correct decision? 

Howard ended up with the Buckeyes, and to say things worked out well would be an understatement. While leading Ohio State to a national championship victory, Howard threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns, while also completing over 73 percent of his passes. The 6-4, 235-pound passer also added another seven touchdowns on the ground. 

For Leonard, his passing numbers were not nearly as good as Howard’s. He ended the year throwing for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns on top of a nearly 67 percent completion rate. What made Leonard special was the impact he brought with his legs. On the ground, Leonard ran for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns. That dual threat impact was huge for last year’s Notre Dame team. 

At the end of the day, the Irish lost to Howard and the Buckeyes in that final game, so many will conclude that Notre Dame made the wrong decision. There is, however, a very strong argument that Howard would not have functioned as well in the blue and gold. Leonard’s legs were able to make up for a struggling Notre Dame offensive line and inconsistent pass game weapons. 

Howard may have very well struggled in that situation, but we will never know. Regardless, both players ended up in good situations, and each will be remembered fondly by their respective fan bases.

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