LATROBE, Pa. — After playing for a college football program that almost never loses, quaterback Will Howard and linebacker Jack Sawyer are now rookies on an NFL team that hasn’t had a losing season since they were both in diapers.
It hasn’t taken either player very long to see the similarities between Ohio State and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team that drafted them roughly four months after they helped lead the Buckeyes to a national title.
“Immediately I realized that,” Sawyer told CBS Sports when asked about the similarities between the two programs. “The great tradition that we have here in Pittsburgh, the expectations to win a Super Bowl every year. Coming from Ohio State, it’s that’s nothing less than that, too. So for me coming here, it’s very similar in that aspect.”
Along with being geographically close to each other (Ohio State’s campus is less than 200 miles away from Pittsburgh), both programs lean into their rich history while tying it into the present. Ohio State’s players, for example, continue to take part in game day traditions that go back to the early 1930s. The summer, the Steelers are once again holding training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, a tradition that began back in the ’60s.
“You know, there’s not a lot of NFL teams that still do camp at a destination,” Howard said, “and there’s certain things that we did at Ohio State that were, you know, very storied and very tradition oriented, and you feel that a lot here, too. And the fan bases are, I think, very similar, super loyal, super passionate. It’s really fun to be a part of.”
The similarities between the two programs were one of the things that compelled the Steelers’ brass to draft both players. The Steelers, specifically coach Mike Tomlin, embrace players who come from winning programs in college. That mindset is at least part of the Steelers’ formula for how they have tied the Dallas Cowboys‘ NFL record for most consecutive seasons without a losing record, which dates to the 2004 season.
Along with playing for a similar program, Howard and Sawyer have the benefit of going through their rookie seasons in the NFL together. But while they are certainly enjoying their continued time as teammates, don’t think for a second that either player is going to take it easy on the other once practice starts.
“It’s game on, man,” Howard said with a laugh when asked about facing Sawyer in practice. “We haven’t talked about that, but we both know it’s a business.
“That’s my boy. That’s one of my best friends here on the team, and was one of my best friends at Ohio State. But man, we’re competing and we’re playing. There’s no honor system.”
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Author: Bryan DeArdo
July 24, 2025 | 1:46 pm
