Brian Hartline evaluates Ohio State's quarterback play in first half of spring game

Quarterback play is going to be a hot topic of conversation at Ohio State heading into the 2023 season. The race to replace C.J. Stroud is on, and one of the top contenders for the starting job put his skills on display in the Scarlet and Gray spring game on Saturday.

Kyle McCord has been competing with Devin Brown to be QB1, but Brown was ruled out with a finger injury. That opened the door for Oregon State transfer Tristan Gebbia to get some reps, and new offensive coordinator Brian Hartline said he saw some good things out of both Gebbia and McCord.

However, he called on the rest of the Ohio State offense to look sharper in the second half of the spring game.

“They’re doing a good job seeing things,” Hartline told Big Ten Network’s Brooke Fletcher about the quarterbacks. “I think that, at times, maybe we can do a better job protecting for them and also getting the ball out.

“Everyone’s got to do a better job. The receivers need to be getting open a little faster, we need to do a little bit better in protection. But doing a great job taking care of the football, not turning things over and really, trying to run the offense.”

Brian Hartline shares who stood out in the first half of Ohio State’s spring game

One of the biggest plays of the game came from Chip Trayanum, who broke free for a long touchdown run in the first half. But there were other standouts, as well, and Hartline listed a few of them.

“I think they’re doing a good job in the perimeter right there at the end when Noah [Rogers] was blocking,” Hartline said. “Chip’s running really hard, Dallan [Hayden’s] running really hard. I think at tight end, I feel like they’re doing a good job. … Overall, just a bunch of guys are starting to stand out.”

McCord and Gebbia both threw for touchdowns in the spring game Saturday. McCord completed 18 of 34 passes for 184 yards while Gebbia went 14 for 24 and 127 yards. It’s unclear when Brown will be able to get back on the field to compete for the starting job, but Ohio State head coach Ryan Day sounded optimistic when he met with reporters.

“It’s changed a little bit in that Devin actually had a procedure done today on his throwing hand, on his finger,” Day said. “He’s not going to be able to play on Saturday. He will be throwing again real soon. But he won’t be able to actually play in the game on Saturday.”