Ryan Day happy to have Tristan Gebbia in quarterback room

Tristan Gebbia probably doesn’t factor into the long-term plans at quarterback for Ohio State. Those likely have more to do with Devin Brown, Kyle McCord and yet-to-arrive signal callers Lincoln Kienholz (enrolling in summer) and 2024 commit Air Noland.

But Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day knows that Gebbia is bringing a lot to the table for Ohio State. And, as Ohio State learned this spring with Brown undergoing a procedure on his finger, you never know when you might be on to your next quarterback.

“Maturity. Just his approach in the meeting rooms. And like you said, this is real right here. Things like this happen,” Day said.

He added that with Kienholz, a Top 300 prospect, arriving and the strides that Brown and McCord have made, the Buckeyes coaching staff is very comfortable with the place of the quarterback room.

And of all the quarterbacks Ohio State will have on the roster in 2023, Gebbia will be the most experienced in college. He enrolled at Nebraska in 2017 and redshirted, then transferred to Oregon State during the 2018 season and did not play. He appeared in four games in 2019 and started four games in 2020 before not playing at a junior. He played in four more games in 2022 as a senior and is now spending his final year of eligibility with the Buckeyes.

While he hasn’t racked up starts or stats, just years of college experience have made Gebbia an asset in a young, talent Ohio State quarterback room.

“And the cool thing is, we get Lincoln coming in the summer, too. So he’s going to have to pick things up fast. But I don’t remember the last time we had four guys where we feel like, ‘OK, we’ve got some good depth in that room.’ I’ve been impressed with his approach. You can tell that he’s played in games. The decisions are quick, the ball comes out quick,” Day said. “And he’s got a mature approach to him.”

Day shared where McCord, Brown need more growth

The head coach complimented the strong arms of both signal callers. McCord might have the edge in the battle due to more experience, but Day noted both quarterbacks should see improvement in drop back passing.

Either way it seems like both, especially McCord, can make all of the throws.

“Yeah, I mean, I think Kyle and Devin both have strong arms,” Day said. “They can make that feel throw you know, when you’re playing against drop-eight and you’re playing against zone coverage like that. They’re gonna drop pretty hard and we relied a little bit on drop back pass, once you get to drop back pass, you’re seeing those guys drop into the zones and then you have to really negotiate the zones.