Speaker 1: With the one hundred and eighty fifth pick, the Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Staters select Will Howard quarterback Ohio Stakes.
Speaker 2: Well, you had the Hay Rookie crew following you around.
Speaker 2: Have you gone back and watched any of that just
Speaker 2: to kind of relive the draft experience.
Speaker 1: I really haven't, to be honest with you, but I
Speaker 1: kind of watched it as it was going through. It
Speaker 1: was kind of weird, like sometimes I'd be in like
Speaker 1: bars or you know, like restaurants, and I'd see it
Speaker 1: on the TV and that was kind of weird. I
Speaker 1: did watch it back a couple of times, and they
Speaker 1: always send it to me before they send it out,
Speaker 1: and it was really cool. It was kind of cool
Speaker 1: to just get to watch myself go through the draft
Speaker 1: process because you don't really get a lot of time
Speaker 1: to sit back and kind of appreciate what you're doing
Speaker 1: and you know, look back at what you've been doing
Speaker 1: and all the work that I put in, you know,
Speaker 1: and it was kind of it was cool, you know,
Speaker 1: and it was a it was a long process, but
Speaker 1: I'm glad to be here and finally just you know,
Speaker 1: play ball again.
Speaker 2: Besides the Hay Rookie crew being there when you got
Speaker 2: the call from What do you remember most about that moment,
Speaker 2: the people you were with, and maybe the feelings that
Speaker 2: came out of you.
Speaker 1: I remember sitting there, you know, sitting on my couch
Speaker 1: pretty much, you know, the first three days, and you know,
Speaker 1: nothing day one obviously, nothing day two, and then day
Speaker 1: three starts and you know, I'm sitting on my couch
Speaker 1: and had all the hats sitting there lined up ready,
Speaker 1: all the camera crew ready for me to be sitting
Speaker 1: in that seat, and a couple of times I just
Speaker 1: got a little impatient or you know, wanted to get
Speaker 1: up and get a snack. So I ended up, you know,
Speaker 1: right during the sixth round, I stood up and I
Speaker 1: went to the kitchen just because I was tired of
Speaker 1: sitting in the same spot all day. And that was
Speaker 1: where I got the call. I was just a relief,
Speaker 1: you know, seeing that number come up before one two
Speaker 1: number with Pittsburgh Steelers over top. I had gotten prank
Speaker 1: called a couple of times, so it was nice to,
Speaker 1: you know, actually have a real one.
Speaker 2: Get it awesome getting a couple of couple of national
Speaker 2: champions man, because you guys know what's required. Man. Congratulations
Speaker 2: man to you you deserve it, man to get family.
Speaker 1: It was just a relief, like a like a weight
Speaker 1: off my shoulders and just you know, all of the
Speaker 1: work kind of come into a fruition and just just
Speaker 1: an amazing moment and super blessed.
Speaker 2: Why did you want it to be Pittsford.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just felt like throughout the whole process, you know,
Speaker 1: I had dinner with you know, coach Tomlin and Coach
Speaker 1: Smith and Omar pro Day, I had a formal with
Speaker 1: him at the combine, and every time I interacted with them,
Speaker 1: it just felt like they were genuine people. You know,
Speaker 1: everything I've heard about this about this organization is that
Speaker 1: it's you know really, I mean, it's a historic organization
Speaker 1: and everyone that has come through here has nothing but
Speaker 1: good things to say about the people. Obviously, it's my
Speaker 1: home state, close to home or close to Columbus. There's
Speaker 1: a lot of things to like about it. And you know,
Speaker 1: the team, you know, is a great tradition of winning,
Speaker 1: and you know, Coach T's done a phenomenal job of
Speaker 1: pumping out you know, playoff teams year in and year out.
Speaker 1: So I'm just excited to be a part of this organization.
Speaker 1: It's storied, there's a lot of history, and you know,
Speaker 1: it's it's a blessing to be a part of it.
Speaker 2: What was that pro day dinner?
Speaker 1: Like when you're preparing for though, those interviews and meetings
Speaker 1: and dinners, you know you're ready for real, a real
Speaker 1: formal setting. You know you're ready to sit down and
Speaker 1: you know, you know, chop, chop this this this this question,
Speaker 1: question answer answer. But it was super laid back and coached.
Speaker 1: T was like, listen, man, Like before we even got started,
Speaker 1: he just said, I just want us to just kick
Speaker 1: and get to know each other and you know, have
Speaker 1: a good time, just break a little bread, food and fellowship,
Speaker 1: and that's what he's about. And I really appreciated that.
Speaker 1: I thought that that was different than most of the
Speaker 1: meetings I had been a part of, and stuck out
Speaker 1: to me and you know, I sat there, I sat
Speaker 1: next to Arthur, and we got to talk a lot,
Speaker 1: just you know, about ourselves and you know how I
Speaker 1: like to get coached and you know what what I
Speaker 1: think is, you know, good about my game and all
Speaker 1: those different things. We just got to kind of chop
Speaker 1: it up and it was it was great. It was
Speaker 1: super laid back. It was relaxed, but it just felt
Speaker 1: felt right, It felt normal, felt comfortable. There was probably
Speaker 1: twelve of US Ohio State guys and we had a ball.
Speaker 2: What is it like to have Captain Jack here? And
Speaker 2: how did you guys get the invite to Ben Roethlisberger's.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so that was amazing. Obviously, you know, seeing Jack
Speaker 1: get drafted to the to the Steelers, I was like,
Speaker 1: that just adds up. It just makes sense, you know,
Speaker 1: just a gritty guy, you know, blue collar just going
Speaker 1: to the Steelers just just felt like it made sense,
Speaker 1: you know. And then I'm sitting there waiting and you know,
Speaker 1: I had said throughout the whole process to all my boys,
Speaker 1: you know, from Ohio State, I was like, I don't
Speaker 1: care who it is. It doesn't have to be any
Speaker 1: certain person, but I just hope that I land with
Speaker 1: one guy from Ohio State, with like one teammate. And
Speaker 1: you know, obviously, you know, as fate would have it,
Speaker 1: you know, I mean, here we are, me and Jack,
Speaker 1: and you know, it just worked out super well. He
Speaker 1: was one of the first calls I made after I
Speaker 1: jumped in my pool. I FaceTime Jack, and I know
Speaker 1: they like I screenshoted something and they posted that everywhere
Speaker 1: and it's super cool, just super cool to be back
Speaker 1: with him. We developed a real special bomb last year
Speaker 1: at Ohio State. I wish I got more time with him,
Speaker 1: but you know, here we are, we get we get
Speaker 1: some more time. You do.
Speaker 2: In terms of after you got drafted, your mom did
Speaker 2: an interview and said that you were bugging the coaches
Speaker 2: to get the playbook and they were like, just enjoy
Speaker 2: the weekend, like we'll see you when you come in.
Speaker 2: What does that say about you?
Speaker 1: I mean, yeah, you know my mom. My mom loves
Speaker 1: to talk about my work ethic and all that. And
Speaker 1: you know, I did send a text to Coach Arth
Speaker 1: like today after I got drafted, just because I was
Speaker 1: sitting there, you know, a week and a half till
Speaker 1: Rookie Mini Camp. I didn't really have anything to do,
Speaker 1: so I was like, I might as well get a
Speaker 1: jump on this playbook and get into it. And you know,
Speaker 1: I think that's what I like to hang my hat on,
Speaker 1: is working hard. And you know, I may not be
Speaker 1: the most talented guy in the world all the time,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna outwork everybody. And that's kind of, you know,
Speaker 1: what I like to be about. And bringing the heart,
Speaker 1: bringing the fire, and and just outworking people.
Speaker 2: What was his pitch like when he tried to recruit
Speaker 2: you to Akron?
Speaker 1: Oh Man, it was a long time ago. I barely remember,
Speaker 1: but I remember him, you know, telling me he believed
Speaker 1: I was an NFL quarterback. And you know, there weren't
Speaker 1: a lot of teams that would say things like that,
Speaker 1: you know, and obviously, you know I was. I had
Speaker 1: aspirations of playing in the Power five, and that's probably
Speaker 1: why I, you know, passed up on Achron. But you know,
Speaker 1: I really respected coach Arth and you know, really loved
Speaker 1: what he did.
Speaker 2: Lastly for you, tell me the characteristics that make you
Speaker 2: a good quarterback?
Speaker 1: You know, I think first and foremost is my leadership.
Speaker 1: You know, I think you know, I'm a relationships based guy,
Speaker 1: and that's what I'm working on right now. You know,
Speaker 1: I know I'm a rookie. I want to stay in
Speaker 1: my lane and make sure that I'm smart about that,
Speaker 1: but I also want to get to know everyone in
Speaker 1: the locker room and build those relationships, you know, because
Speaker 1: they're not gonna you know, they're not gonna care how
Speaker 1: much I know unless they know how much I care.
Speaker 1: You know, and that's that's something I think is really
Speaker 1: important to me, is just getting to build those relationships.
Speaker 1: And I'm trying to take that time to do that
Speaker 1: right now. And I know it's a process. You know,
Speaker 1: I'm being a rookie. I understand how this lead works,
Speaker 1: you know. I think that's that's number one. And then
Speaker 1: my ability to process, you know, and understand the game.
Speaker 1: I think that sets me apart as a quarterback. But
Speaker 1: you know, and then I think third, I would just
Speaker 1: say my work ethic, you know, and I'm never taking
Speaker 1: note for an answer, always, you know, wanting to outwork everyone.
Speaker 1: And that's kind of what I like to hang my
Speaker 1: hat on.
Speaker 2: Perfect.
Speaker 1: Thanks Will, Thanks MISSI.