Neither QB was ranked in the top 600 nationally. Leonard signed with Duke, Howard with Kansas State. Here's the backstory.

It was one night last June when Will Howard and Riley Leonard stayed up late bonding over talk about their families, faith and what life might have in store for them.“Genuine conversation,” Leonard said Saturday.

There are several parallels in the Notre Dame and Ohio State matchup in the National Championship. Both teams have a third year defensive coordinator, both teams have proven first year offensive coordinators,

Ohio State had a couple snoozers to start things off as they dominated their first two CFP games. Ohio State blew out Tennessee at home in the first round as they won 42-17, and then they smoked one seed Oregon in the quarterfinals as it was 31-0 halfway through the second quarter. They cruised to a 41-21 win.

At the time, they were two quarterbacks preparing for the biggest season of their lives. Riley Leonard and Will Howard, the soon-to-be starting quarterbacks at Notre Dame and Ohio State, attended the famed Manning Passing Academy at Nicholls State over the summer.