Ryan Day knows who Ohio State’s new starting quarterback will be for at least the Cotton Bowl.
Having indicated during a radio appearance last week that Devin Brown would be the starter for Ohio State’s season finale against Missouri, Day made that stance clear during his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday. While Lincoln Kienholz will also be available to play in the Cotton Bowl as Ohio State’s backup quarterback, Brown is entering the game as a firm starter.
“The plan is to play Devin,” Day said. “If the situation comes up to get Lincoln in the game, we would do that, but this is going to be Devin’s game to play.”
As far as next year goes, Day responded to a question about whether Ohio State would pursue a transfer quarterback by saying the Buckeyes are preparing for a competition between Brown, Kienholz and incoming five-star freshman Air Noland, who officially signed with the Buckeyes on Wednesday.
That said, Day suggested that Brown can make himself the early frontrunner to start in 2024 if he performs well in the Cotton Bowl.
“I think that competition is very, very healthy,” Day said. “I think Lincoln's really been coming on, excited to see Air get going here this spring. But fired up to see the way Devin's been practicing the last few weeks. It's been great for him, now that he's healthy and his ankle’s feeling better, and kind of like, OK, take this thing and run, and see how the next couple of weeks go in terms of the way he handles himself.
“Excited that he's going to be able to play in this game, and then just go from there. But Devin was real close going into the season, so this is going to be an awesome opportunity for him to take it and run, and so excited to see that. And again, I think the guys have seen what he's been, the last couple practices have been very good. But also, Lincoln and Air, these guys are talented young men who want to get on the field.”
Brown performed well enough in practices throughout the offseason that the starting quarterback competition between him and Kyle McCord extended into the first two games of the regular season before McCord was finally named the starter. Day said Brown has made continued strides in bowl practices now that he’s the quarterback taking the majority of the first-team reps, though Brown – who will become the first-ever Ohio State quarterback to make his first career start in a bowl game – must now back that up by performing well in game action.
“You wait to get into the game to kind of see it all, but I think it's just the experience of getting more and more reps under your belt,” Day said when asked how Brown has improved in bowl practices. “But also, when you're with the ones and you're with the starters all the time, I think you can play maybe a little bit more freely and not worried about making a mistake. And so that's been good to see.”
Based on Day’s comments Wednesday, it continues to appear increasingly unlikely that Ohio State will add a quarterback from the transfer portal – at least not one who would be in contention for the starting job, as the Buckeyes will likely look to add a veteran backup for depth purposes like it did last offseason with Tristan Gebbia, who will exhaust his collegiate eligibility after the Cotton Bowl.
While Brown will likely enter the spring as the favorite to start and Kienholz will likely be his top competitor for the job, Day didn’t rule out the possibility that Noland could win the job as a true freshman, though he said Ohio State won’t know how big a factor Noland will be in that competition until he goes through his first practices as a Buckeye this spring.
“You don't know till they get in and just start to, how quickly can they learn the offense and get used to it and learn from their mistakes,” Day said when asked about the possibility of a true freshman starting at quarterback. “You can't replace experience. But some guys just, you just see it early on, they can handle the information, they can handle what it takes. And most guys, it takes a little time to get that figured out. A lot of guys want to come in and play right away, because it sounds good, and they're anxious. But that always isn't the best in terms of their development. But each guy is unique. And we get a better idea once we get going with spring practice.”
“I think that competition is very, very healthy.”– Ryan Day on Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and Air Noland
As for McCord, who announced his transfer to Syracuse on Sunday, Day said he did not want to discuss the specifics of his conversation with McCord and why McCord chose to leave Ohio State, though he said he thinks McCord will be successful in his next stop.
“I think Kyle was very well-respected here. We wish him nothing but the best,” Day said. “He played some good football here and spent three years here and made a lot of relationships here. And I think he's committed to another school now, and he'll do well there, he will. So I don't think it's worth getting into all (of why McCord left) right now, but certainly wish him nothing but the best of luck. There’s a lot of guys in that room who care about him a lot.”
