Pennsylvania native Will Howard is bound for the NFL. His mom's invention might have helped him get there.
Pennsylvania native and Downingtown High School product Will Howard is fresh off a national football championship at Ohio State.
He's hoping to be one of the first quarterbacks picked in this weekend's NFL draft.
But his parents, Bob and Maureen, knew this day would be coming for a long time.
"From a young age, he always told me … 'Mom, I'm gonna play in the NFL someday,'" Maureen Howard said. "He just had that in his mind and was so determined."
"It's still kind of surreal," Bob Howard said. "We've enjoyed every level and every sport he's played … and all our kids, we just enjoy watching them do what they love to do."
At 6 feet 4 inches tall and 236 pounds, Will Howard has the tools to make it to the next level.
He's got the work ethic and the drive.
But like lots of high-level athletes, it all begins with a good night's sleep.
Will Howard received that at a young age, thanks to his mom.
"I would walk him in the jogging stroller all bundled up … through the neighborhood, and I'd roll it in the living room and he'd sleep for like three hours," Maureen Howard said. "Over time I was like, 'How can I simulate that environment in the crib?'"
"So I made this suit, and it worked like a charm, and Bob and I, we joked and said it's like a magic sleep suit," she said.
The Howards used Maureen's background as a pediatric physical therapist to create Baby Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit.
After success with Will and the rest of her children, Maureen Howard got them in the hands of friends with kids. Word spread about the sleep suit, and the rest is history.
"It grew very organically from there, and our kids got to see what it's like to build a business from a concept or an idea to a really bustling, booming business," Maureen Howard said.
The Howards sold the business in 2021, but that has allowed them more time to watch their son on his journey to becoming an NFL quarterback.
"Will often says, 'Mom, you're welcome for being a bad sleeper,'" Maureen Howard said.
