The Ohio State Buckeyes took down the Oregon Ducks 41 to 21 during the Rose Bowl on Wednesday, and as the team went to the victory stage, one of the team members was stopped from getting on, and that was starting quarterback, Will Howard.
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As you can see in the video, one of his teammates is telling him to jump up, but he’s being blocked by a man wearing headphones. At this point, the crowd around the stage begins to demand they allow Howard up on stage as he’s the team’s QB, but the man with the headphones says something inaudible to him. His team tells the man he’s the QB as Howard explains he’s being blocked from the stage no matter where he tries to get up.
Will Howard thanked his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ after winning the Rose Bowl. He was then the only player on the team physically blocked from going on stage. pic.twitter.com/y6YedgspQR
— The Redheaded libertarian (@TRHLofficial) January 2, 2025
It was then that the theories as to why started flying, some of them reasonable, and some that, if true, should result in total condemnation of whoever was running the show.
It was suggested that the stage had a weight limit, and as such, putting Howard on the stage would have violated some kind of code; however, the question at this point would be, why didn’t someone else get off to allow the starting QB, the man who led the team, onto the stage? The camera shows there were quite a few players on the stage at the time, and any one of them could have gotten down.
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That, at least, would have been a more reasonable excuse if true, but some are just seeing it as a thin excuse. The other idea floating around is that Howard was too much of a brand risk to put on the big stage and give a live microphone to, because just moments before that, the first thing he did during an interview was thank Jesus Christ.
“First and foremost, I’ve got to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity,” Howard said the moment the microphone was under his chin.
Will Howard after the Rose Bowl win:
“First and foremost I’ve got to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity.”
“A younger me would be in awe right now…we’re not done yet.”
🎥: @espn | @whoward_ pic.twitter.com/IsPw1Bpbz3
— Toby Hammes (@toby_hammes) January 2, 2025
Speculation abounds, and some of them point to ESPN, others point to the NCAA, but the prevailing theory is that they were attempting to restrict Howard’s access so that he wouldn’t bring up Christ on the stage. This is, of course, currently unconfirmed, but it seems to be the most popular of the guesses.
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The other guess is that they wanted the stage to be filled predominantly with black men, as the camera that pans across the stage shows all the players were black from the angle the camera was being held. However, I doubt that’s the reason.
Again, none of this is confirmed, but it’s a very odd thing to keep the quarterback of the winning team off the victory stage, especially after he threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns.
Regardless, Ohio will now face Texas for the national title. Texas barely squeaked by Arizona in double overtime, so this may very well be an exciting game.
