Scarlet Sunrise: Kirk Herbstreit 'wouldn't be shocked' if Ohio State QB battle bleeds into season

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Kirk Herbstreit ‘wouldn’t be shocked’ if Ohio State QB battle bleeds into season

The Ohio State quarterback battle is a two-way race, and it’s still chugging along. Neither junior Kyle McCord nor redshirt freshman Devin Brown did enough to separate themselves from each other during spring ball, according to fifth-year Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day.

So now the millionaire dollar question is, when will Day and the Buckeyes name the starter?

Former Ohio State quarterback and current college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit thinks the competition under center might bleed into the season. Buckeyes fans have seen a similar situation pan out before: Former head coach Urban Meyer flip-flopped between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones during 2015, and the results were far from desirable.

“I don’t think they even know, I really don’t,” Herbstreit told On3’s J.D. PicKell at the On3 NIL Elite Series in Nashville. “I think you’ve got two guys that are more than capable. Ohio State’s been pretty spoiled at that spot with their receivers since Ryan Day’s taken over. They’re going to find a way to put a lot of points on the board, regardless of which guy wins it.”

McCord has made one career start and backed up C.J. Stroud the last two seasons. Brown, however, has yet to throw a collegiate pass.

Both are former five-star prospects who were top-five quarterbacks in their respective recruiting classes.

“I think [Day will] go into summer camp, they’ll have those scrimmages, and then I wouldn’t be shocked if they used the first two or three games to let these guys play it out,” Herbstreit told Pickell.

“It’s hard to make a big decision like that from a scrimmage in the summer. It’s only fair. Like what Jim Harbaugh did last year. Give a guy a half or a game, give the other guy the same thing. Then I think it’s easier to make the decision.”

If Ohio State were to go that route, the Buckeyes would do so with a favorable schedule. They open the season at Indiana — Ohio State has averaged 50.8 points per game against the Hoosiers under Day — Youngstown State and Western Kentucky.

But Day went into spring practice hoping for a starter to emerge by the end of the 15 practices in March and April. So it appears likely the Buckeyes will do everything they can to pin down their QB1 before September rolls around. Herbstreit is posing an alternative method as a possibility, though.

Ranking the three hardest Ohio State tight end records to break

As “Tight End Week” wraps up at Lettermen Row, we are looking at what past players at the position have accomplished. After all, the Buckeyes’ current TE1, Cade Stover, has a chance to build on a 2022 campaign, during which he piled up 36 receptions and 406 yards — the most by an Ohio State tight end in 28 years.

If Stover makes the jump he wants to in 2023, he could close in on some single-game and single-season Buckeyes tight end records before departing for the NFL.

With that in mind, we took a look at the three hardest Ohio State tight end records to rewrite: one career record, one season record and one single-game record (plus a bonus record that might not be touched again).

To find out each of them and how attainable they are for Stover, go here.

Making three predictions for Buckeyes tight ends

This is Keenan Bailey’s first year as tight ends coach. He’s replacing longtime offensive coordinator/TEs coach Kevin Wilson, who left to become Tulsa’s head coach this offseason.

Although there is a new face leading the room, there are a bunch of returners, including the Buckeyes’ top-three projected starters at the position.

Lettermen Row is finishing up its second position week of the summer with three predictions for the Ohio State tight ends room, which could be more of a factor in the Buckeyes’ passing game for the second year in a row.

Check it out here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 91 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 175 days

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