Why the bowl game is such a huge opportunity for Devin Brown

With Ohio State starting quarterback Kyle McCord entering the NCAA transfer portal, there’s an opportunity for talented prospect Devin Brown to finally show what he can do in the Cotton Bowl.

Brown lost what was described as a fairly competitive battle for the starting quarterback job before the season. Now he’ll get a chance too show what he’s all about.

“I think that’s one of the things that’s got Ohio State fans all the sudden excited about the Cotton Bowl, when they weren’t really excited,” said Spencer Holbrook of LettermenRow on the Andy Staples On3 show. “The opportunity for different guys to be seen on the field who you just haven’t seen, and Devin Brown leads the pack there.”

Brown was very limited in the amount of work he saw this fall, piling up a line that read 12-of-22 passing for 197 yards and two touchdowns, against one interception. He also ran for 35 yards and a score.

But the expectations for Brown are through the roof.

“So much fanfare about Devin Brown. The No. 1 player in On3’s 2022 rankings,” Holbrook explained. “The guy that everyone thought could be next up if Kyle McCord took the step and made it to the NFL. Then Devin Brown could step in the next year, or Devin Brown could even beat him out this year. It was a close competition.”

A 6-foot-3 sophomore from Gilbert, Ariz., Devin Brown will get a chance to show what he can do against a Missouri squad that will be licking its chops over the prospect of securing a New Year’s Six bowl win.

There are plenty of Buckeyes, though, who are equally keen on seeing what Brown can do for them.

“I know that Ohio State is excited to see what they have in 33,” Holbrook said. “I know the fanbase is excited to see what they have in 33. But that doesn’t mean it’s just going to click and magically appear as if he’s going to be the next first-round guy. He’s got to go earn it in bowl practice.”

Ohio State may well bring in a transfer quarterback this offseason, so the onus is on Devin Brown to show what he can do and potentially cement a place for his future with the program in the bowl game.

That’s plenty of incentive.

“I do think that for Devin Brown this is a, not a put up or shut up moment, because you’re going to get to compete with whoever they bring in if they choose to bring in one if you choose to stay, but I do believe that this is his moment to kind of seize that job and show everybody that he can be the next in the lineage of Ryan Day quarterbacks,” Holbrook said.