Despite having an epic performance in the Rose Bowl on Wednesday night, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard wasn’t allowed to celebrate onstage with his teammates.
A Rose Bowl security guard refused to let Howard on the stage. Apparently, the security guard wanted to make sure the weight limit for the stage wasn’t put to the test. Instead of getting angry, the senior quarterback for the Buckeyes simply walked away.
College football fans made it clear they wouldn’t have been as polite as Howard. Over the past few hours, they’ve been ripping the Rose Bowl security guard on social media for being a “disgrace.” That seems a bit harsh, but clearly people weren’t happy about this bizarre sequence.
“This is disgraceful,” a fan wrote on X.
Another fan declared, “Fire the security guard immediately what a bum.”
“What a stupid scenario,” a third fan commented.
Will Howard can’t get on the stage!
Let Will on the podium. pic.twitter.com/6lEGb5H7US
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) January 2, 2025
Not only are fans slamming the security guard on social media, they’re praising Howard for showing grace during this moment.
“The disrespect to Will Howard is real. He took it with the grace of an MVP though,” one person said.
“I just want to recognize what a stand up man Howard is.. he did not stand on the stadium because there was a weight limit.. yes he wanted to but didn’t act like a jerk about it.. that IS character,” a social media user wrote.
Howard had 319 passing yards and three touchdowns in Ohio State’s dominant win over Oregon. Overall, he was very pleased with the way the Buckeyes performed on offense.
“We came out, and we played angry,” Howard told reporters. “And I think it showed. And we jumped out to an early lead and it was hard for them to come back. And we knew they were going to come back and do something. They’re too good of a team to not score any points. We knew they were going to mount some sort of a comeback. It wasn’t going to be perfect. We just had to weather the storm and make sure we won the game when it counted.”
Next up for Ohio State is a showdown with Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic.
Related: Will Howard’s Girlfriend Turns Heads At The Rose Bowl