Will Howard's Girlfriend Is Turning Heads At The Cotton Bowl

01/10/2025 06:34 PM

Will Howard and the Ohio State Buckeyes are one win away from the national championship.

The Buckeyes, the No. 8 seed in the College Football Playoff, are set to take on No. 5 Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl on Friday evening. Ohio State and Texas are playing for a spot in the national title game, where No. 7 Notre Dame is waiting. The Fighting Irish are coming off a last-second win over Penn State in the Orange Bowl.

Howard and the Buckeyes had a disastrous finish to the 2024 regular season, losing a home game to Michigan - it was the fourth straight loss to the Wolverines for Ryan Day - but since then, it's been a complete 180.

The Buckeyes blew out Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff and then dominated Oregon in the quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl. Howard, the transfer quarterback from Kansas State, has been sensational. His family and friends have been loving his performance.

Howard's girlfriend turned heads at the Rose Bowl and she's trending before kickoff at the Cotton Bowl on Friday evening.

Howard has been dating a young woman named Lauren Leiker since 2023. The couple went public on Instagram when Will was at Kansas State. It seems like they're still together, though it was unclear if the woman at the Rose Bowl is the same one from his Instagram page.

The Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback will have a lot of friends and family members in attendance at the Cotton Bowl.

Howard, who started his college football career at Kansas State, has yet to beat Texas. He'll get one more chance on Friday evening, with a spot in the national title game on the line.

"Personally for me," Howard said, "there's definitely a little extra motivation there because I never got the chance to beat these guys."

Howard lost all three of his starts against Texas at Kansas State. He was then on the sideline for a fourth loss. Friday night, Howard and the Buckeyes will look to take down the Longhorns.

Texas knows Howard is in better position now, thanks to Ohio State's loaded roster.

"Not downgrading his receivers at Kansas State, but he has a better group of receivers here, better people he can work with to get the ball to," Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron, who played against Howard three times, said on Thursday. "That's a strong kid. He's a fighter. He'll run the ball if he has to and things like that. So it's going to be a great challenge for us."

Howard will need to have a big game on Friday night if the Buckeyes are going to take down the Longhorns.

Kickoff at the Cotton Bowl is set for 7:30 p.m. E.T. The game will air on ESPN. 

Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge are going to be on the call. The winner will face Notre Dame in the national title game on Monday, Jan. 20.