Ohio State is hiring its new quarterbacks coach from within.
Corey Dennis, who has been a member of Ohio State's support staff since 2015 and a senior quality control coach for the Buckeyes for the past two seasons, will be promoted to the full-time coaching staff to replace Mike Yurcich as quarterbacks coach, Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported on Wednesday morning. Ryan Day will continue to "remain heavily involved" with quarterbacks and still call plays, per Thamel.
Ohio State has not yet officially announced the hiring, but a source confirmed to Eleven Warriors that Dennis is in line for the job.
The hire will mark Dennis' second promotion in less than two years. He was promoted to senior quality control coach when Brian Hartline was promoted to wide receivers coach in July 2018 after Zach Smith was fired.
Dennis, who was reportedly in line to become Colorado State's quarterbacks coach before Yurcich's departure from Ohio State, will provide continuity for Ohio State's quarterback room, as he has served as the Buckeyes' assistant quarterbacks coach for the past two years.
Over the past two seasons, Dennis worked in tandem with Day and Yurcich to help develop Ohio State's quarterbacks, including Dwayne Haskins and Justin Fields, both of whom have spoken highly of the tutelage Dennis has provided them.
“Basically, he’s like my personal quarterback coach when coach Day’s not around,” Haskins said in 2018. “I can ask him about coverages, pressures, and he has everything that Coach Day teaches him and helps me out with it throughout practice, throughout meetings. So he helps me a lot.”
Haskins, fellow former Ohio State quarterback Joe Burrow and former Ohio State wide receiver Michael Thomas were among those who took to Twitter on Wednesday to demonstrate their approval of the hire.
That man uppp @CoreyDennis_ congrats brotha you deserve it! https://t.co/oXHep2G49N
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) January 1, 2020
well done and congratulations @CoreyDennis_ you deserve it and more! https://t.co/KkSWRltVou
— Michael Thomas (@Cantguardmike) January 1, 2020
Day, who was Ohio State's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator before becoming head coach, will continue to work closely with the Buckeyes' quarterbacks and lead their offensive play calling efforts, just as he did this past season.
Dennis has never been a full-time assistant coach until now, so he'll have to prove himself both as a developer of quarterbacks and on the recruiting trail, but his promotion should make for a smoother transition for Fields and the Buckeyes' other returning quarterbacks who are already familiar with Dennis.
Dennis, who is married to Urban Meyer's daughter Nicki, is a former Georgia Tech wide receiver who initially joined Ohio State's coaching staff as an intern in 2015. He worked with the Buckeyes' wide receivers as a graduate assistant in 2016 and 2017, then moved to the quarterback room in 2018.
As he's moved up the ranks at Ohio State, Dennis has increasingly become viewed as a potential rising star in the profession, which positioned him to become a full-time quarterbacks coach at one school or another in 2020.
Thanks to Yurcich's exit to become the offensive coordinator at Texas, that opportunity is now coming at Ohio State, where Dennis will be tasked with trying to lead Fields to another spectacular season in 2020 while also developing the Buckeyes' younger quarterbacks behind him, including incoming freshmen Jack Miller and CJ Stroud.
