Ohio State QB Will Howard shares moment with girlfriend after Rose Bowl

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard sealed his team’s blowout victory in the Rose Bowl with a kiss.

After Howard, 23, and the Buckeyes dominated the Oregon Ducks 41-21 on Wednesday, Jan. 1, the quarterback went over to his girlfriend, Lauren Leikerwhat a smoke.

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 Staffordwife of the Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Staffordwho wrote via her Instagram Story: “Always said it… Backwards hat = easy access “

While Howard mostly keeps his personal life close to the vest, he did post a photo with Leiker via Instagram in April 2023. At the time of the post, Howard was still the quarterback at Kansas State.

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Howard transferred to Ohio State prior to the 2024 season, where he has helped lead the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Ohio State will play Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl on Friday, Jan. 10, with a trip to the National Championship Game on the line.

Outside of the kiss with his girlfriend, the postgame celebration came with a side of awkwardness for Howard.

Despite being the team’s starting quarterback, Rose Bowl officials denied Howard access to the stage for the trophy presentation.

IN a clip that circulated on social mediaHoward could be seen asking an official for permission to join his teammates for the postgame huddle.

“It’s the starting quarterback!” Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams implored.

Howard seemed to have a good sense of humor about the whole ordeal, laughing as he told bystanders, “They’re blocking me!”

“Guys, there’s apparently a weight limit,” Howard said. He added: “They are literally blocking me out.”

Howard was eventually able to get to the scene where he throw out celebratory roses to commemorate the great victory.

“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 a team not to score any points. We knew they were going to make some sort of comeback. It wasn’t going to be perfect so we just had to weather the storm and make sure we won the game when it mattered.”

The quarterback threw for 319 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win, a revenge win 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 just have 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 square off in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The winner will face either Penn State or the winner of the Sugar Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 2 between Notre Dame and Georgia in the National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 20.