Ryan Day explains why he has not yet named a starting quarterback

Ryan Day has yet to name the Ohio State starting quarterback ahead of the 2023 season, but he had an explanation as to why there is QB1.

Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are the expected top two in the Buckeyes’ quarterback race. But no one emerged yet just a couple of weeks before the end of the season.

But now, Day wants to see one thing from both quarterbacks before making a decision.

“I mean, that’s a word I keep saying, you know, consistency,” Day said. “You got to be able to do it over and over and over again. You know, it’s not good enough to just do it two or three times and then throw an interception. 

“And then the expectation, the standard here is very very high. But all these guys knew that when they came here. We all agreed on that in recruiting them. I mean, I could give you a list of the things that both of them are doing well, and then a list of the things they’re not doing well.”

Day said that’s not the end-all-be-all of the competition at the moment though.

“I just don’t think as I sit here right now that I can name one the starter,” Day said. “But I know it’s a long season. And, you know, we’ll continue to think about it and who knows, maybe in the next few days, or by the end of the week, you know, someone really just takes the next step. 

“But we’re trying to give these guys the opportunity and as many reps as possible to try to show us that they can do it.”

Ryan Day calls Ohio State quarterback competition a good battle

Day had let on throughout the spring and summer that a quarterback battle could run for a long while in the lead up to the season and the recent weeks have confirmed that. Day said it was neck and neck earlier this month.

“It’s a good battle,” Day said. “It’s back and forth, for sure. They know that this week is important to them and the scrimmage on Saturday will be important and they’re constantly putting up numbers on a daily basis and so we’ll compare the statistics but there’s also the eyeball test.”

Even further down the quarterback depth chart the Buckeyes have competition, as transfer Tristan Gebbia and true freshman Lincoln Kienholz are dueling for the No. 3 quarterback slot.