Whether or not you believe that quarterbacks sometime get too much credit for a football team’s success, most fans of the sport can generally agree that a quarterback should definitely be allowed to celebrate with his teammates.
That wasn’t quite the case for Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, who just helped spearhead his team’s dominant 41-21 victory over the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday.
While the Rose Bowl (or College Football Playoffs quarterfinals game for you younger college football fans) may not have been a particularly competitive or dramatic game, there was actually a dash of both in the postgame scrum.
Specifically, Howard, who finished the game with 319 yards and three touchdowns, apparently didn’t beat out his teammates to the winner’s podium, and there was an awkward moment where the star quarterback wasn’t allowed up to celebrate with his fellow Buckeyes.
You can watch the viral moment for yourself below, courtesy of WBNS-TV reporter Adam King:
Will Howard can’t get on the stage!
Let Will on the podium. pic.twitter.com/6lEGb5H7US
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) January 2, 2025
The moment in question came during the usual Rose Bowl postgame festivities, with the Buckeyes being interviewed for the ESPN national broadcast.
Off to the side, however, Howard was trying to join his teammates, only for a Rose Bowl staffer to sheepishly deny him.
The video somehow ended even more awkwardly than it began, with Howard trying to duck under the stage props to get to the other side of the podium without photo-bombing the postgame interview.
The video, which has been viewed well over half-a-million times as of Thursday morning, was viral for obvious reasons.
If someone told me this happened and I hadn’t seen it, I would have thought they were lying. It’s that ridiculous.
— Catholic Lawyer ???????? (@JeffreyHelsdon) January 2, 2025
“If someone told me this happened and I hadn’t seen it, I would have thought they were lying,” one bewildered social media user posted under King’s video. “It’s that ridiculous.”
People in attendance agreed: “He’s the quarterback, let him up!”
Other, more conspiratorial, social media users opined that everything, from Howard’s apparent Christian faith to the color of his skin, played a role in the awkward moment.
Howard himself joked in the video that there was apparently a weight limit on the podium, hence the awkward moment.
“They’re blocking me,” he said.
According to Sporting News, Howard wasn’t blocked for long, as he did eventually make it onto the stage. He was not interviewed by ESPN’s Rece Davis.
Regardless of the awkward moment, Howard and his Buckeyes will have a little over a week to prepare for its next playoff battle.
Ohio State and the Texas Longhorns will square off in the Cotton Bowl (or the College Football Playoffs semifinals) on Jan. 10.
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