Chip Kelly on timeline to decide a starting quarterback: 'I don't have an answer for you'

The quarterback battle at Ohio State has now extended into Fall Camp. From the sound of it, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly doesn’t expect that to change too soon, either.

Kelly was asked if Ohio State would have a starter named in the next couple of weeks after a recent practice. However, he declined to comment on a timeline for naming the starting quarterback.

“That’s a great question by you and I know exactly where you’re going with that,” Chip Kelly said. “I don’t have an answer for you.”

When one reporter then asked who the number two quarterback is at Ohio State, Kelly laughed and said “That’s a good question too. That’s a great way to phrase it.”

It appears to be a relatively open quarterback competition. The Buckeyes brought in Will Howard as an experienced transfer quarterback from Kansas State during the offseason. He joins Devin Brown, a former five-star recruit who has been within the Ohio State program, even seeing playing time during the 2023 season. Lincoln Kienholz also returns to the program.

Ohio State also has two stars in Air Noland and Julian Sayin who entered the program as freshmen this year. It remains to be seen if either of them will be ready for the start of the regular season. However, both have promising futures.

This is, notably, the first season that Chip Kelly has been with the Ohio State program, running the team’s offense. There’s a lot of trust between him and Ryan Day. So, his opinion will largely decide the battle and nobody has more experience working with him than anyone else.

One thing that is clear, regardless of who ends up winning the starting job, the Buckeyes are going to have plenty of depth and options at quarterback throughout the 2024 season.

Chip Kelly reveals surprising speed from Ohio State QB Will Howard during offseason

One thing that Will Howard would bring to Ohio State is his ability as a two-way player. That can, at times, surprise some people due to his large size. However, he is an excellent runner.

Chip Kelly commented on his running ability, revealing a surprising fact about the speed that Will Howard has shown off during the offseason.

“Will Howard reached 22 miles per hour in a sprint during the offseason, according to Chip Kelly,” Spencer Holbrook wrote. “He’s 6-foot-4, nearly 240 pounds.”

Remembering that sacks count against a quarterback’s rushing statistics, Will Howard has carried the ball 226 times in his college career for 921 yards and 19 touchdowns.