Ryan Day admits he thought Devin Brown would have been 2023 starting QB this time last year

At Ohio State, Thursday was about Will Howard. The Kansas State graduate transfer officially became the new starting quarterback of the Buckeyes.

But Devin Brown is the backup — at least for the time being — and head coach Ryan Day finally confirmed something about the redshirt sophomore he had been hinting at throughout the last year.

Day did so when he was asked if the timing of this year’s starting quarterback announcement — Aug. 15, the earliest Day has ever declared a winner of a competition under center — was influenced by how long last year’s two-way race between Brown and eventual 2023 starter Kyle McCord took.

“No, I think every year is different,” Day said before making a head-turning, albeit not shocking, statement.

“And, at this time last year, I thought Devin was gonna be the starter, and Kyle just kind of came on and and down the stretch really did a great job. Going into those first couple games, I couldn’t look the team in the eye and say that he’s the starter. Because they they know what they see. And that’s a big part, is the locker room, and then [Kyle] won it in the first couple weeks and then kind of went from there.”

Day added: “So I think every year is different. But I think this situation [with Will], this was the right time.”

Brown’s competition with McCord really started leading up to the 2022 Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. Brown suffered a finger injury the following April and needed surgery, which cost him the final week of spring practice and the exhibition in Ohio Stadium. Both McCord and Brown took turns leading the quarterback battle in training camp, except McCord got the nod for Week 1 on Aug. 29 and then, on Sept. 12, was named the full-time starter ahead of Week 3.

The Buckeyes carved out a red zone package for Brown midseason, and he scored his first career rushing touchdown at Purdue (he would have had another had he not fumbled). Later that day in mop-up duty, he threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to then-true freshman wide receiver Brandon Inniss. The following week, Ohio State inserted Brown in the red zone against Penn State, but he sprained his right ankle while trying to reach the goal line.

Brown was sidelined down the stretch of the regular season, and, while he eventually got off the availability report, he didn’t play another snap until the Cotton Bowl. That’s when he got the keys to the offense and made his first career start in the New Year’s Six bowl game.

McCord had already transferred to Syracuse by that point, leaving the door open for Brown to assert himself as Ohio State’s quarterback of the future. Unfortunately for Brown, another sprain, this time to his left ankle, sidelined him in the first half. Ohio State ended up losing, 14-3, to Missouri.

Less than a week later, the Buckeyes added Howard from the portal. Brown didn’t transfer in the winter or in the spring. He remained steadfast in his commitment to Ohio State.

“Devin has shown the ability to do just about everything we ask him to do,” Day said. “It’s the consistency part and taking care of the football part that he’s just got to make sure that he does a great job of moving forward, and if he can do that, then he can play and be a contributor.

“A big part of being a quarterback is resilience and continuing to work. The minute you face a little bit of an obstacle or resistance along the way, you just got to keep pushing.”

Day referenced Ohio State needing three quarterbacks to get through the 2014 season — starting with Braxton Miller in training camp, then J.T. Barrett and ultimately Cardale Jones — during which the Buckeyes won their last national championship. He also mentioned how Max Duggan was a Heisman Trophy finalist and national runner-up at TCU in 2022, a season he started as a backup.

Brown’s Ohio State career has included a host of “what if” moments.

Thursday put a bow on the biggest of them all: If Brown had finished last year’s training camp on a high note, he would have been QB1 to begin the 2023 season, not McCord.

Now, he’s QB2 again and in a competition with true freshman Julian Sayin to keep that role ahead of the 2024 campaign.

Brown has certainly made strides this offseason, notably flashing a great deep ball in training camp, however, his resilience is being tested again, this time with Howard in front of him on the depth chart.