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.

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. They were roommates, getting ready for the pressure cooker of big-time college football at two of the biggest brands in the sport.

Ohio State's Will Howard and Notre Dame's Riley Leonard will meet in the national title game, months after they were roommates at a prestigious camp.

Both quarterbacks knew their final season of college football could still be a special one even after their teams endured difficult setbacks.

According to Archie, Howard and Leonard were roommates at the Manning Passing Academy last summer, adding another roommate narrative to the college football postseason (after Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer sealed his team’s win with a play against his former roommate, Quinn Ewers).

Sports make for strange bedfellows -- or in this case, roommates, as Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and his Notre Dame counterpart Riley Leonard discovered. The pair roomed

Ohio State and Notre Dame will meet in a clash of the titans in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The game will be played at Mercedes-Ben

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,

It was one night last June when Will Howard and Riley Leonard stayed up late talking about their families, faith and what life might have in store.