Devin Brown discusses backing up Ohio State QB Will Howard, different approach he's taken this season

Devin Brown lost an offseason quarterback battle at Ohio State for the second straight offseason this summer.

Will Howard, a Kansas State graduate transfer who committed to the Buckeyes six days after Brown’s injury-shortened start in the Cotton Bowl, got the keys to a high-powered offense coordinated and called by Chip Kelly and, of course, overseen by head coach Ryan Day.

“Obviously, there’s gonna be a little disappointment,” Brown said, when asked Wednesday about how he processed the aftermath of the quarterback competition in August.

“But, at the end of the day, I’m out here to be a Buckeye. And I knew they were gonna make the best decision for this team. So just got to keep doing everything I can in my power to get myself better and help this team.”

Brown has been loyal to Ohio State ever since he flipped his commitment from USC in the 2022 recruiting cycle, during which he emerged as the No. 5 quarterback, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.

Brown, now a redshirt sophomore, could have entered the transfer portal this winter after Howard transferred in, and he could have hit the portal this spring, too, if he didn’t like the way the competition was going. He stayed put during both transfer windows, publicly shutting down portal speculation in between.

The Gilbert, Arizona, native piloted six drives over the first three games this season. One of them, though, simply saw him kneel down to close out the opener against Akron. That said, of the other five drives he quarterbacked in his three non-conference outings, only one led to a touchdown, while the remaining four ended in punts.

But last week at Michigan State, Brown delivered his favorite Ohio State moment yet. And that’s saying something considering he ushered in a few memorable ones while backing up Kyle McCord in 2023, like when he scored his first career rushing touchdown at Purdue, where the Buckeyes debuted a red zone package for him; or later that day when he threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Inniss; or even earlier in the season when he dialed up a 28-yard scoring strike to wideout Carnell Tate against Western Kentucky.

Flash forward to this past weekend at Michigan State: With just about half a minute left in the first half, Howard got the wind knocked out of him. In came Brown, legs stiff and arm barely warm. He faced a 3rd-and-10 from the Michigan State 17-yard line and, soon enough, a “nickel” blitz. Running back TreVeyon Henderson picked up the pressure, Brown slid to the right and fired a touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith.

Brown put the ball only where his true freshman phenom receiver could get it, and Smith made his second one-handed grab of the scoring drive en route to the end zone.

Brown was asked if he sees opportunities like that as an audition for the Buckeyes’ 2024 starting quarterback job.

“Anytime you get in the game, I think it’s an audition for next year, or even for this year, because you never know what’s gonna happen,” Brown said. “You never know when you’re gonna have to be ready and when your number’s called.”

For now, Brown said he’s embracing his QB2 role like he did last year. Brown described him and Howard as probably some of “the closest two guys on the team.” But Brown’s preparing every day like he’s the starter.

And that preparation looks a bit different this time around.

Brown emphasized how his mental state is different in 2024, as is his attitude and approach toward the game. Brown believes he’s putting more time in, and it’s helping him anticipate rather than react when he’s on the field.

The play he made in East Lansing was a boost, too.

“I think it’s a confidence thing,” Day said Wednesday. “We talk about confidence all the time, like what is real confidence? There’s fake confidence and there’s real confidence. Real confidence means you’ve actually done it. You look somebody in the eye, and you know, ‘I’m gonna go do it again.’

“But when you actually physically do it, I think it builds real confidence in you. And so it’s hard to do that unless you’ve actually put it on the field. So for him to step up in that moment in a big spot — not only was it a two-minute drill but it was also in the red zone at the end of half — [those are] two big situations to win right there. And so it’s got to give him a little bit of juice this week. I feel like it has. I think he’s had a good week of practice.”