Ryan Day and Will Howard Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Moments after winning the National Championship, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and his star players were forced to huff it to the postgame press conference on foot after their golf cart crashed into a wall.
The incident inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday, January 20, which was shortly preceded by Ohio State defeating Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Playoff National Championship, was caught on camera by CBS Sports reporter Brandon Marcello.
Marcello reported that the golf cart “couldn’t make a sharp turn and crashed into a wall,” resulting in one of the cart’s wheels snapping. In addition to Day, the golf cart was also carrying Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and linebacker Cody Simon to the press conference.
During an appearance on the Today show Tuesday, January 21, Howard, 23, humorously reflected on the accident.
“That was pretty funny,” Howard said with a laugh. “I started crying laughing, I was dying. But up in front, Coach Day was pretty serious. I didn’t know if he actually got hurt or what happened. But me and Cody were sitting back there dying laughing. It was hilarious.”
Ryan Day and Will Howard Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Day, 45, was not injured in the golf cart crash, and he and his players all made it to the postgame press conference safely.
“It’s unbelievable,” Howard said on Today. “I can’t really put it into words right now. It’s still pretty surreal. I don’t think it’s really going to set in honestly until we get back to Columbus and get to be around the fans and some of our close friends.”
Pre-golf cart crash, Howard got emotional on the field when asked about what Coach Day and Ohio State mean to the quarterback, who transferred to the school in January 2024 after three seasons at Kansas State.
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“I don’t have the words, man,” Howard told ESPN. “They’ve changed my life in more ways than I can say, man. Coach Day and these guys here have completely changed my life.”
He added, “I can’t believe God gave me the chance to be a Buckeye.”
During his postgame remarks, Day echoed the love for Howard and the entire Ohio State team.
“After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys are going to be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever,” Day said. “There was a point where not a lot of people had that vision, but these guys did, and they saw it through. Ohio State may not be for everybody, but it’s for these guys.”
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