Kyle McCord will remain Ohio State‘s starting quarterback for the Buckeyes’ second game of the season against Youngstown State.
Ryan Day said Tuesday that McCord will start again for the Buckeyes this Saturday in Ohio State’s home opener against YSU, though Day said the plan is for Brown to play more against the Penguins than he did in the season opener against Indiana.
When asked to clarify if he considered McCord to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback for the 2023 season, Day said he is “trying not to draw too many hard lines” on the competition right now, stating only that McCord will be the starting quarterback this week.
McCord played nearly the entirety of Ohio State’s first game against Indiana, taking 64 of the 70 snaps at quarterback in the season opener, but didn’t stake a firm claim to the starting job as he completed only 20 of his 33 passing attempts for 239 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception.
“I think we both felt the same way. There was some good moments, some good throws. Some other things that you wish you had back,” Day said Tuesday of McCord’s performance against Indiana. “It was good enough to win in this game, which was the most important thing ... it won’t be good enough moving forward to reach our goals.”
Brown played only six snaps against the Hoosiers, taking the field for only two possessions with Ohio State going 3-and-out on both, but Day said after the game that he had intended to play Brown more.
“I would have liked to have seen Devin play a little bit more,” Day said Saturday. “I didn't want to run the risk of putting ourselves in a bad spot by continually moving those guys in and out. But going in, really wanted to play Devin some more, would like to do that moving forward.”
While Ohio State never quite got into an offensive rhythm against Indiana, leading to a tighter-than-expected game and a 23-3 final score, the Buckeyes shouldn’t face much resistance this week as they play an FCS school in Youngstown State, which should allow ample opportunity for Ohio State to play at least two quarterbacks against the Penguins.
