Ryan Day details Ohio State quarterback plan behind Kyle McCord, Devin Brown

Ohio State still has a quarterback decision to make at the top. Ryan Day played Kyle McCord for a majority of the season opener against Indiana, earning a win. Devin Brown featured as well but did not get too much of an opportunity. Week 2 will provide an easier opponent for the Buckeyes, allowing them to get more data on both.

There could be a scenario when Ohio State goes a bit deeper down the quarterback depth chart in the near future. Day revealed if McCord and Brown both need to be taken out of the game, Oregon State transfer Tristian Gebbia would be next up. Until then, Gebbia is filling his role nicely as a mentor to everyone in the QB room.

“Tristian would be the next one in the game,” Day said. “Tristian has done a great job helping the other guys in the room. He’s like having a graduate assistant. He’s very, very smart, very mature, and has talent. He would be the next one in.”

Future of Lincoln Kienholz excites Ryan Day

Behind Gebbia is true freshman Lincoln Kienholz. He’s someone Ohio State plans to redshirt but would love to take advantage of the four-game rule with Kienholz. Getting him playing time early in his career is valuable to Day.

“Would love at some point to get Lincoln in a game to get his feet wet,” Day said. “We’re allowed to have four games so we can still redshirt Lincoln. We’ll see how things go. Every rep is so valuable right now. So, we’ll see. But there are a lot of things that we are very much encouraged with Lincoln.”

Kienholz played high school football at Pierre (SD) T.F. Riggs, where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 205 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Day says there is still a development ongoing with Kienholz. Not only was he a multi-sport star coming out of T.F. Riggs High School but the football competition level was not great. Kienholz still needs to get up to speed at the college level.

“We see somebody that hasn’t played a whole bunch of football. Has played multiple sports. Has a great feel, very intelligent, very inquisitive, curious. Has to continue to build. He didn’t play down in Georgia or Texas or Ohio. He played in South Dakota. So, it’s going to take a little bit of time for him.

“But he’s learning quickly.”