Every prospective Ohio State quarterback has a moment as a recruit where he convinces Ryan Day to do everything in his power to make sure that player becomes a Buckeye.
Day remembers Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud having his moment as a recruit. Ditto for Kyle McCord, who displayed his impressive arm talent in front of Day.
On the first day of the early signing period on Dec. 15, Day told reporters in jest that new Ohio State signee Devin Brown’s moment was a video clip of him performing a dunk that showcased his athleticism. While that wasn’t totally accurate, it was a pretty impressive highlight nevertheless.
First time on a court since last year. Probably shouldve worn something better than Vans. #Jellylegs pic.twitter.com/g6WkDNInlX
— Devin Brown (@dbrownqb33) December 5, 2021
The truthful answer of when Day was truly sold on Brown came when the Ohio State coach was able to sit down with Brown in person for the first time. It wasn’t his rocket of a right arm that convinced him, but his football acumen.
“I think it was when I got a chance to meet him,” Day said. “Certainly the film speaks for itself, but when you sit in a room with him and look him in the eye and you listen to him talk about football and talk about competing, that was my moment.”
Im so pumped to officially be a Buckeye! Thank you Buckeye Nation!@OhioStateFB @OhioStAthletics @CoreyDennis_ @ryandaytime pic.twitter.com/6JJgEkcjqh
— Devin Brown (@dbrownqb33) December 15, 2021
On the football field, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Brown’s prep accomplishments are well known. In 14 games for Corner Canyon High School (Draper, Utah) this year, Brown threw for a Utah single-season state record 4,881 yards and 57 touchdowns. He also ran for 451 yards and eight touchdowns for a combined 65 total touchdowns in a magnificent senior campaign.
“You guys can watch the film, his athletic ability, his ability to run, ability to throw is tremendous,” Day said. “He did a really good job this past year and has wherever he’s been. The people who worked with him at the Elite 11 have nothing but raving reviews about him. Then when you just talk to him, you realize what an outstanding personality he is. He just has that magnetic way about him. The guys in the class have already grabbed on to him. I was really excited about him during this process.”
Day wasn’t lying about other commits in the 2022 cycle already gravitating toward Brown. Kyion Grayes, an Ohio State four-star wide receiver signee from Arizona, met up with Brown Tuesday to run routes, as the two are already working toward developing an on-field chemistry.
First few tosses with my new teammate @KyiongrayesII. Cant wait to do it in the Horseshoe! O-H pic.twitter.com/MCGyUMwlhR
— Devin Brown (@dbrownqb33) December 22, 2021
— Kyion Grayes II (@KyiongrayesII) December 22, 2021
As he’s previously stated, Day’s recruiting philosophy is always to try and sign at least one quarterback in each cycle. When former OSU quarterback Quinn Ewers reclassified to 2021, Day and the Buckeyes found themselves in need of another signal-caller for 2022. Ohio State reached out to Ohio four-star quarterback Drew Allar initially, but Allar never wavered from his commitment to Penn State.
Once USC fired Clay Helton, Brown began to rethink his commitment to the Trojans, and that opened the door for Ohio State. Ohio State quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis extended an offer to Brown after traveling to Utah to visit his high school during the Buckeyes’ bye week in October.
“When Quinn decided to reclassify, we went about the business of trying to find a quarterback in that class,” Day said. “We weren’t going to force it, we had to find somebody that fit, and we looked at a couple of different guys, really only about two or three. Devin stuck out. He just did. I was sold when I watched his film and then got him on the phone … He’s got a tremendous personality, very competitive, very gifted, very intelligent but also very athletic. Excited to just see his energy coming into this building pretty soon.”
Brown visited Ohio State on Nov. 20 for the Michigan State game, officially decommitted from USC less than a week later and committed to the Buckeyes on Dec. 1. Jack Miller III had already entered the transfer portal before Brown’s commitment, but Ewers had not. Either way, it didn’t matter who was in Ohio State’s quarterback room to Brown, who wanted to learn from Day and Dennis and wasn’t afraid to come in and compete.
“Getting Devin at quarterback was critical for us … He wanted to come to a place where he could compete at a high level,” Day said. “He wasn’t really concerned about who else was in the room. He just wanted to go and get after it. So I think when you combine all of those things, we’re very excited Devin is a part of this thing and a part of our future.”
While he isn’t likely to see much playing time for the Buckeyes next season with Stroud returning as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Brown will enroll early in January, giving him a chance to compete with McCord for the backup job in 2022 and potentially the starting job in 2023.
