Ryan Day breaks down the position battle at quarterback, offensive line

Ohio State coach Ryan Day has a couple of key positions on offense that he’s still trying to figure out heading into 2023. Most importantly, Day is looking to find a replacement at quarterback for CJ Stroud, who went No. 2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft after being the Buckeyes starter the past two seasons.

Day has a tough choice to make between a pair of former five-star recruits in Devin Brown and Kyle McCord. With the season a little more than a month away, the coach opened up at Big Ten Media Days on the factor that he believes will determine the eventual winner.

“There’s so much that’s a part of it,” Day said on the Big Ten Network. “I’ve been watching that Netflix story, ‘Quarterback.’ Peyton Manning says the hardest position in the sport is quarterback and all those things that come with it. Certainly at Ohio State, you’re gonna be scrutinized in so many different ways. You’re gonna get a lot of the credit, which you have to be able to handle that.

“You have to handle the success. But also, the blame when something doesn’t go well. You’ve gotta be able to handle that and continue to grow from that and build and be able to be resilient. So there’s a lot that comes with it.”

One thing that could help McCord in that area is that he’s had two years of experience in the program compared to one for Brown. McCord spent the past two seasons backing up Stroud and even started one game as a true freshman in 2021, throwing for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 59-7 win against Akron.

McCord also has experience throwing to star Buckeyes receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., whom he won a state championship with as a senior at St. Joseph’s (PA) Prep. Still, Brown has done enough this offseason to push him for the job with the fall fast approaching.

“As time goes on, you try to identify those things the best you can as a coach,” he said. “But also, you can’t really figure in their feet until you get in a game where you can actually tackle. You can figure out a little bit in the pocket, but we’ve got a couple quarterbacks that can move. So we’ll try to do the best we can to get a quarterback here for the first game and then see how the season goes.”

Ryan Day breaks down Ohio State offensive line

Quarterback isn’t the only position with questions heading into this season. Ohio State lost two key pieces on the offensive line in tackles Paris Johnson and Dawand Johnson to the NFL.

The Buckeyes have the skill players to be one of the best offenses in the country in 2023, but finding players to block for them will be crucial. Day went to the transfer portal to add a couple of options, but at this point is still figuring out who will fill the void left behind at the tackle positions.

“We did add some pieces here in the offseason,” he said. “We bring on Josh Simmons, who’s an offensive tackle from San Diego State. We brought in Vic Cutler. We have a couple of freshmen who we feel like, I said after the spring they’re not freshmen anymore. They’re gonna have to come in and play.

“I feel decent about our guards coming back. They’ve played. Carson Hinzman got the majority of reps with the first team at center. He’s gonna have to take the next step and solidify himself as the starter. Then we’ve gotta find tackles. We do have probably four or five guys that are in contention there, so that’s good. But we need guys to step up at starter level.”

Ohio State was one of the best offensive lines in the country at protecting the quarterback, ranking 11th with a 2.8% sack rate in 2022. With a new player stepping in under center, keeping that level of production will prove critical to the Buckeyes’ success.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.