Ryan Day details how he is preventing team split over dual-quarterback system

Ryan Day expects both Kyle McCord and Devin Brown to receive meaningful snaps under center during Saturday’s season opener against Indiana.

Both quarterbacks have proven that they deserve to see playing time, but Day ultimately chose McCord to be Ohio State‘s starting quarterback for Week 1. Most often, programs want to single out a QB for the starting role and develop chemistry, continuity and consistency with the rest of the offense.

Day is committed to not allowing the inconsistency under center to compromise the regular flow of the offense.

“It’s something you keep a close eye on to see if something like that is going on. And I haven’t seen any of that go on at all,” Day said on Thursday. “If it’s something that becomes an issue, we’ll have to address it. But I’m keeping a close eye on that to make sure that’s not going on. I know that our team right now feels confident with both guys in the game. Then we’ll see how Saturday goes.”

Day doesn’t expect Ohio State to find themselves in a position where either quarterback needs to be worried about getting “benched” during the game. Instead, Day wants to play his QBs situationally — he wants to showcase their strengths for the betterment of the team.

The quarterback position isn’t one to typically see rotation, but it happens at every other position and obviously, Day is comfortable with making the unique change.

Looking back, McCord had one year of experience over Brown, spending the last two seasons as a backup to the Houston Texans’ CJ Stroud. In his two seasons as a backup, McCord completed 70% of his 58 pass attempts for 606 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. The sample size is small, but Brown’s is even smaller.

Still, Brown and McCord were very similar prospects coming out of their respective recruiting classes. Both QBs were ranked top 50 prospects and both ranked the No. 5 quarterbacks in their classes, per the On3’s Industry Ranking, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Despite the difference in experience level, Brown pushed McCord to the end of fall camp and, in Day’s eyes, was good enough to allow him a seat at the table in the Buckeyes’ regular rotation.

With McCord leading the opening drive, Ohio State will kick off its new season with an early Big Ten matchup against Indiana on Saturday. They are 28.5-point favorites over the Hoosiers, per Vegas Insider, which gives Brown a real chance to play early and often during Week 1.