Confidence in Chris Chugunov clear when he comes off Buckeyes bench

The speculation, debate and conversations about Ohio State never end, and Lettermen Row is always ready to dive into the discussions. All week long, senior writer Austin Ward will field topics about the Buckeyes submitted by readers and break down anything that’s on the minds of the Best Damn Fans in the Land. Have a question that needs to be tackled, like the one today about the Ohio State and the faith in backup quarterback Chris Chugunov? Send it in right here — and check back daily for the answers.

This team apparently has no apparent weakness…except one. How much has Chris Chugunov progressed since the preseason and how far can he (and the other stars on the offense AND defense) take the Buckeyes if called upon?

— Thomas Rupp (@thomasrupp10) October 29, 2019

The pecking order was already clear on the Ohio State depth chart at quarterback, so it wasn’t a surprise when Chris Chugunov was the guy who trotted out to take the snap while Justin Fields was sidelined for a play when his helmet came off last week against Wisconsin.

But the shocker was when the Buckeyes dialed up a pass play for him, which was the latest sign that the program is gaining confidence that he can keep the attack rolling if necessary.

The game was scoreless, the rain was coming down, the Buckeyes were facing one of the best defenses in the country and they could have easily just handed the football off to minimize the risk before getting Fields back in the lineup. Instead, Ryan Day trusted Chugunov in a critical situation to be able to execute a screen pass. And while that’s generally a safe throw, that doesn’t mean nothing can go wrong — and what Chugunov did when the play did break down around him validated Day’s faith in him.

“That’s what’s hard about being a backup is you have to be ready to go,” Day said. “With limited reps with the ones, you have to be ready to go out there and function. We put [Chugunov] in there, second-and-long, we tried to screen, the guard kind of sniffed it out. I thought he did a good job of throwing it away. We ended up getting a holding call, but that wasn’t his fault. He made a good decision.

Ohio State backup quarterback Chris Chugunov was trusted to make a key throw off the bench last week. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

“That was a tough situation to get thrown into. I thought they’d be kind of coming over the wall so we could get them on the screen, but it didn’t work out that way. I thought he managed it well.”

Obviously that’s a tiny sample size, and it’s also not meant to suggest there wouldn’t be a significant drop-off for the Buckeyes if Chugunov had to take the reins for an extended stretch. Fields is one of the best dual-threat weapons in the country, and it’s still safe to assume that losing him for any period of time late in the season would be a major challenge for a team that is a legitimate national-title threat with him at quarterback.

Now, it does help that combining J.K. Dobbins, the offensive line and a dominant rushing attack with arguably the nation’s best defense would likely keep the Buckeyes competitive against almost anybody regardless of the opponent. And given his familiarity with the offense, strong supply of self-confidence and an arm that appears much more capable of delivering the throws Ohio State would need than when he arrived, Chugunov has earned the backup role and the responsibilities that come with it.

Are the Buckeyes still the most complete team in the country if Justin Fields isn’t at quarterback? Certainly not, and nobody is pretending that would be the case.

But Chris Chugunov is a better safety net than it might have seemed when training camp ended in August. And Ohio State made it clear in a key situation last week that it trusts him to win games if it comes to that.

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