Ryan Day addresses if Ohio State considered playing three quarterbacks vs. Akron

Ohio State starting quarterback Will Howard played into the fourth quarter of a 52-6 blowout win over Akron last weekend. But after Howard dialed up a 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Carnell Tate — Howard’s third score through the air in his Buckeyes debut — the Kansas State graduate transfer’s day was done.

In came redshirt sophomore Devin Brown, who made a short-lived and injury-riddled start in last year’s Cotton Bowl and then lost an offseason quarterback battle to Howard ahead of the 2024 campaign.

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Brown collected 10 offensive snaps as the Buckeyes’ backup signal caller versus the Zips, according to Pro Football Focus. He completed just 1-of-3 passes for six yards. Brown’s first drive spanned nine plays and 31 yards. He connected with senior wideout Jayden Ballard to convert a 3rd-and-6 early on, but Brown missed Ballard on his next two attempts — one downfield and one on an out route.

Brown’s second drive consisted of a single victory formation kneel down.

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Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was asked Tuesday if he ever considered playing three quarterbacks in the opener against Akron.

“It never really got to that,” Day said. “We wanted to try to get Devin in there and try to get him some drives. And you did see us throw the ball down the field. Again, we’re trying to just run our offense and give him opportunities. So it wasn’t like we just handed the ball off and got out of there. We tried to get the offense moving.

“The goal was to score a touchdown. We made sure everybody in the huddle understood that. We didn’t do it. So that was a little disappointing, but that’s for everybody in that huddle, not just the quarterback.”

Day continued: “If we have an opportunity to play three [quarterbacks], we will. But we didn’t. I felt like there was a point there where we did pull away there in the second half, and we were able to put Devin in the game. And there may be some games here where we get Devin thrown in a little bit earlier in the game. That wasn’t the situation on Saturday.”

Ohio State scored only 17 points in the first half. The Buckeyes went three-and-out on their opening drive. They actually had to punt twice the opening two quarters. They also turned the ball over on downs deep in Zips territory and followed up a second-quarter takeaway with just 11 yards in five plays and, ultimately, a field goal.

Eventually, Ohio State pulled away — in part because of two defensive touchdowns — however, Howard was still in the game when the final frame began.

By that point, there wasn’t much time for Brown to play, and there wasn’t any time for a potential third quarterback to also see the field.

Day was asked, though, if he has a preference for who that third quarterback would be, if an opportunity to play one presents itself in coming games. The Buckeyes have five scholarship quarterbacks this year: Howard, Brown, redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz and true freshmen Julian Sayin and Air Noland. Sayin, in particular, impressed this offseason but is still waiting for his first Ohio State snap.

“All those guys are working right now,” Day said. “So we need all those guys to compete. We’re going to roll them and just try to keep evaluating on a weekly basis.”