How important Ohio State's quarterback room is to Buckeyes' College Football Playoff hopes

The Ohio State quarterback is the most important position for obvious reasons and that goes for the team’s College Football Playoff hopes as well.

Kyle McCord and Devin Brown appear to be the two leaders in the Buckeyes’ quarterback race. But whoever wins the competition, they’ll be the biggest key to getting back to the CFP.

On3’s J.D. PicKell broke it all down on The Hard Count.

“They don’t know who’s playing quarterback at Ohio State, but they have a first world problem,” PicKell said. “You got two five-star quarterbacks, whether it’s Devin Brown, whether it’s Kyle McCord, a lot of coaches would give their left arm and their kicker to be able to have one of those guys in their roster. They got both of them. 

“The thing with Ohio State is the rest of the roster is in a place to compete for a national title. Ryan Day said  ‘we have some of the best depth on the defensive side of the ball.’ They got Marvin Harrison Jr., they got Emeka Egbuka, they got TreVeyon Henderson, they got Miyan Williams. Ohio State’s gonna be really good everywhere around the quarterback. “

The pieces are in place, but it’s up to whoever the Ohio State quarterback is to maximize all of that potential.

“My question for the quarterback is can you capitalize on all the firepower around you,” PicKell said. “Because I think the defense quite frankly, I think that they had this personnel defensively from a depth standpoint and a comfortability in the scheme standpoint a season ago with C.J. Stroud, I think they probably at least play for a national title. 

“Like I think the defense probably holds up their end of the bargain a little bit better against Georgia in that College Football Playoff game. And maybe we have a different thing we’re saying about Ohio State this coming season.”

As an Ohio State quarterback would do, either one of them holds the key to the proverbial car this season.

“But even so, Kyle McCord, Devin Brown, whoever it is, the quarterback room is what holds the keys for Ohio State,” PicKell said. “So you catch my drift there, but the quarterback room, who is it going to be? Doesn’t matter. It matters but it doesn’t matter which name you’re putting in there. They have to be able to capitalize on the rest of the roster and the potential of what they have in front of them for Ohio State. Pretty straightforward.”