Quinn Ewers has made strides over the course of his first season as an Ohio State quarterback.
On Sept. 21, Buckeye head coach Ryan Day characterized the five-star quarterback’s transition from high school as a difficult one and said Ewers had “a lot of catching up to do.” On Tuesday, however, Day had plenty of positive things to say about how far the true freshman has come since then.
“He’s making progress. I thought coming off of the bye he’s been working hard and getting better,” Day said. “He’s starting to look more comfortable walking around the facility.”
Ewers still has yet to appear in a game for Ohio State. Meanwhile, first and second-year backup quarterbacks Kyle McCord and Jack Miller have taken 70 and 42 snaps, respectively, in parts of four different games for the Buckeyes this season.
The former No. 1 overall high school recruit, who reclassified from the class of 2022 to join the Buckeye program a year early in August, did not make the travel roster for Ohio State’s season opener at Minnesota. He was on the travel roster for its Oct. 2 matchup with Rutgers, but was back off of the travel roster in favor of J.P. Andrade for Ohio State’s third road game against Indiana.
“He’s trying, he’s working at it, but once we get in the season it’s very difficult to get guys to catch up and get them the reps, because we need to get the guys reps who are gonna play in the game,” Day said in September.
But more reps have come Ewers’ way in recent weeks. Ewers made the trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the Buckeyes’ latest contest against the Cornhuskers, while Miller was left off the roster after being suspended following an arrest for operating a vehicle while impaired.
Quinn Ewers and C.J. Stroud on the money in warmups. pic.twitter.com/bM9r9gJI92
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) November 6, 2021
“(Ewers) is starting to pick up the offense. It’s taken a little time for him to pick up the offense, but that’s because he just got thrown into it,” Day said Tuesday. “He didn’t have a spring ball, didn’t have a preseason. There’s a lot to it, and it’s hard when you don't get a ton of reps, but he’s getting more reps now. And I think you’re starting to see him get more comfortable around the team.”
Day had previously stated it could be difficult for the talented freshman to truly get in the mix at quarterback before the Buckeyes begin bowl game practices in December. But Ewers appears to have accelerated his acclimation to the program as of late, and with Miller’s suspension being an indefinite one, his spot on the depth chart has likely been buoyed as well.
