Urban Meyer doesn't believe Ohio State fans should worry about not knowing starting QB

The quarterback battle at Ohio State between Devin Brown and Kyle McCord has become one of the most talked about storylines in college football heading into the 2023 season. However, former Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer doesn’t think that this battle should worry fans.

As he explained on Urban’s Take with Tim May, Meyer thinks that Ohio State is incredibly well coached and because of that, he expects Ohio State to be successful at the quarterback position.

“No, they shouldn’t be,” Urban Meyer said. “Ryan Day, Corey Dennis, what they’ve done the last four years recruiting, development, and play, I don’t know if it’s ever been done before. Certainly not at Ohio State. Certainly not in the Big Ten conference.”

“I was trying to go back and think if I’ve ever remembered anything. Lincoln Riley has done a very good job. Jimbo Fisher had a nice run at Florida State. A guy named Jeff Tedford at Oregon, but nothing, it pales in comparison to what Ryan Day and Corey Dennis have done. So, the last thing they need to worry about is the quarterback position at the Ohio State University.”

Urban Meyer has had plenty of his own quarterback competitions over the years. One of the most notable was the one that Joe Burrow lost and led to his transfer to LSU.

“I will say this, that we had Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow, and I thought it was the right thing to do because Joe Burrow — he did not win that spot, and it was close. He could have won. We announced the starter and Joe left. We’re still very close to this day,” Meyer said.

“Can you imagine if Joe Burrow stayed at Ohio State? If I would’ve said, we’re not gonna name a starter. Let’s keep them playing. Then Dwayne Haskins leaves for the NFL. You know who our starter would be for the next year, Joe Burrow. His first year at LSU was very workmanlike, very average. But can you imagine him taking over for that team, the season he had for LSU, and then all of a sudden he does that for Ohio State? I also had Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. I played them both.”

Ultimately, Ryan Day will need to decide on a starting quarterback. However, it’s not a decision that Meyer is worried about.

“So, I think the last thing Ohio State Buckeye fans need to worry about is how Ryan Day/Corey Dennis is going to handle the quarterback situation.”

Ryan Day on how not knowing the starting QB impacts Ohio State’s preparation

Ohio State has talented options at the quarterback position. However, as Ryan Day explained, not knowing who the quarterback is does impact the entire team’s preparation.

“Well, I think first is the other team has to prepare for two different guys, I think that’s one thing. Two, we’ll continue to split up the reps the way we have, make sure guys are getting what they need. We’ve been getting a bunch of reps, I still see it the same way,” Day said.

“But that’s why we work so hard in the preseason and get all those reps on the two fields to make sure that we’re getting all the looks for the guys. Because you know when you put in a play there’s a lot of looks that can happen on one play. You have to get a bunch of them to really master that play, so we’ve done a bunch of that. But then we’ll kind of divvy them up the way that’s appropriate based on how we’re gonna play the game.”