Tristan Gebbia proving to be important addition to Buckeyes quarterback room

The summer offseason is in full swing, and Lettermen Row is trying to survive it with our annual Position Week breakdowns. By the time all nine units and coaching staff at Ohio State have been covered, training camp and media days will nearly have arrived, and the return of football in the Horseshoe will be just around the corner. We’re kicking off our positional weeks with the most important position on the field: quarterbacks.

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COLUMBUS — Ohio State made a mid-January transfer portal move when it added former Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia to the roster.

The one-time Beavers starting quarterback, with one year of eligibility, seemed to be a benign addition to the Buckeyes quarterback room that’s stocked full of five-star talents battling to be the next Ohio State starter.

Gebbia’s presence in the quarterback room this spring, however, was everything but unimportant. Once Devin Brown missed the spring game due to a procedure on a finger of his throwing hand, and Gebbia was thrust into one of the top two quarterback spots in the spring showcase on April 15.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day had a plan when he added Gebbia from the transfer portal: to add depth to the room and bring in a veteran who could help young, inexperienced quarterbacks. It’s working well through the first few months.

“Maturity,” Day said of Gebbia this spring. “Just his approach in the meeting rooms. And like you said, this is real right here. Things like this [losing Brown temporarily] happen.”

That maturity isn’t anything new. It’s why Gebbia picked Ohio State in the first place. He’s not planning to become the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes. No, he wants to get an early start on his coaching career while also earning some playing time while he still can.

“There’s something in you that you’re not ready to hang it up,” Gebbia said in spring ball. “I felt like I wasn’t ready.”

Ohio State certainly views him as a welcomed addition to the coaching staff and roster, as he serves in a mentor role and a player role meshed together, a rarity in the college football world that is full of three- or four-year careers and chasing NFL dreams. Gebbia is in Year 7 on the college football circuit. The maturity helps his perspective — and his mentorship.

“He’s coming in with a mindset that if he gets on the field, he’s ready to go,” Day said in March, “but I thought he was a really great addition to the room and can help mentor some of those young guys in there.”

“I thought [Ohio State quarterbacks coach] Corey [Dennis] did a good job of identifying him, and I think that’s important. When you look at some of those NFL teams, and those guys who are in the backup roles, those guys who are supporting the starter — that really helps with the culture. And I’m hoping he can provide that for us. And, who knows, you just never know how things shake out.”

Of course, Ohio State would prefer not to need Gebbia in a playing role of importance this fall. That would happen in a break-glass emergency, especially with both Kyle McCord and Devin Brown ahead of him on the depth chart.

But that depth chart wouldn’t be entirely full without Gebbia’s presence. Day has never hid the fact that he wants four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster at all times. The Buckeyes had four during the regular season in 2021, but they had just three last fall.

With the addition of incoming freshman Lincoln Kienholz, who enrolls this summer, Ohio State will be at its preferred number of quarterbacks, Gebbia included.

“The cool thing is we get Lincoln, quarterback of the 2023 recruiting class coming in in the summer, too,” Day said. “So he is going to have to pick things up fast. But I don’t remember the last time we had four guys where we felt like, ‘All right, we’ve got some depth in that room.’

Depth at quarterback is rare in college football. Ohio State has it. Maturity from a seventh-year experienced quarterback is also rare. Ohio State can say it has that, as well.

Thank Tristan Gebbia for it. Because what seemed to be a benign transfer portal addition for a program trying to capture a national championship has already paid off in big ways. And it’ll continue to do so as long as Gebbia keeps flashing that player-coach mix the Buckeyes wanted from him.

“You can tell he has played in games,” Day said. “The decisions are quick. The ball comes out quick.

“And he’s got a mature approach to him.”