Among the litany of questions he fielded about Ohio State’s quarterback competition Monday, Ryan Day noted something interesting while answering an inquiry about the optimal time in fall camp to name a starter.
See, Day’s press conference this week was initially scheduled for Wednesday. It seemed that, prior to fall camp when the media schedule was made, it might have been his intention to name a starting signal-caller at that time.
“That probably would have been about the right time,” Day said. “But we thought the right thing to do was have the press conference today to talk about the scrimmage before we get some of the other guys with you guys (for interviews). In C.J. (Stroud’s) or Justin (Fields’) year, it was probably about that time (that we named them the starter), practice 12 or 13. But we’re not there right now.”
While Day had hoped to be at least close to naming a starting quarterback by now, he still needs to see more before he’ll be ready to do so.
As fall camp marches on, it’s not that Kyle McCord or Devin Brown, the two combatants for the position, are playing terribly. But as he’s been saying since spring, Day is waiting for one of them to step up, go above and beyond and take command of the starting job.
The difference between now and spring is that time is ticking. With the team’s season opener against Indiana less than three weeks away, there seems to be a distinct possibility that the Buckeyes’ quarterback competition continues playing out into the regular season for the first time since J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones’ joust in 2015.
“That’s something we have to decide this week, probably,” Day said. “Are we ready to name someone by the end of the week or does the competition continue into the season? That’s not ideal, but if that’s where we’re at, that’s what we’ll do.”
Ohio State’s scrimmage Saturday didn’t do much to move the needle in favor of either man, per Day’s comments on Monday. Performance varied between sections of the practice. On first and second down he liked the play of both, then in the team’s “movement” period he felt both were “hot and cold.” There’s been some improvement in the team’s third-down offense since the start of camp, Day said, but not where the coaching staff wants them to be.
“My bottom line is, there were some good plays there, but also some plays that they want back,” Day said. “So again, we’re looking for consistency there. I keep going back to the fact that I don’t feel like there needs to be extraordinary play. Making the routine plays routinely and taking care of the football, period. I think we have to understand situational football, I think that’s important and then ultimately leading the team down the field.”
Every position battle is made different. Sometimes two players are both so good that it’s hard to keep one or the other off the field. Sometimes there’s no good options at a spot and the battle is about trying to make the best of a bad situation.
Day sees Brown and McCord’s bout as somewhere in between those two extremes. Both have been solid but not great as of yet.
“I do wish that somebody had really emerged,” Day said. “I don’t think, right now, it’s two guys that are just blowing it out of the water to where you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know who’s going to play.’ But it’s also not like they’re not doing well either. There’s really good play out there, there’s ability. Now we’re just looking for consistency.”
Leadership will be an important trait for the starter to have, Day added. It’s among the myriad of traits that both passers are still developing.
“we’re looking for consistency there. I keep going back to the fact that I don’t feel like there needs to be extraordinary play. Making the routine plays routinely and taking care of the football, period.”– Ryan Day
Another trait both have been working on is their pocket presence. Behind an offensive line that has yet to completely take shape, knowing when to climb or when and how to evade a rush and being able to stand in and deliver a strong throw under duress are all things that will be important for whoever is lined up behind the team’s center.
“That’s something that all the quarterbacks are starting to figure out,” Day said. “You have to find the speed of the game, and you can’t simulate a pass rush at all in the offseason. You can throw routes on air when guys are out there on their own, throw seven-on-seven and do different things. But to actually simulate men trying to come in and tackle you, guys up front blocking, there’s a lot that goes with that.
“Having the ability to see the coverage, see the routes but feel the pocket is something that’s learned. You don’t just wake up one day and figure that out. So we’re really trying to force those guys to stay in there and feel that pocket, because there’s times to escape and times to slide and buy yourself time.”
Day added that he’s shown both Brown and McCord film of Tom Brady, who despite possessing low-end athleticism for an NFL player was excellent at evading the pass rush. It was a matter of sliding and finding the soft spot in the pocket, Day said.
With the quarterbacks continuing to develop their games, it will be important for the rest of the offense to step up and relieve some of the pressure from their shoulders. Ohio State has some of the nation’s best receivers, with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka both back off 1,100-yard-plus seasons and Cade Stover posting one of the best recent years from a Buckeye tight end in 2022.
With growing confidence in the work the offensive line has been putting in under position coach Justin Frye and a deep stable of running backs, Day believes the transition to starter will be eased for whoever wins the job.
“The message for the whole offense — the line, the receivers — they need a good picture, the quarterbacks,” Day said. “The only way to get a good picture in the passing game is to space out the routes, to give them a good pocket. They have to be on their game early on for these quarterbacks.”
Day added that the offense staying ahead of schedule and being efficient on early downs will be of paramount importance while the new quarterback breaks himself in.
“You’d like a sizable gap to name a starter, for sure,” Day said. “It’s hard to name somebody when there isn’t a significant gap. (I’m) looking for someone to emerge. There’s been good things, there’s been things that they want back and I appreciate their competitiveness right now. They’re going at it every day. We are not ready to name a starter right now.”
Asked directly whether the competition will continue into the first game against the Hoosiers or beyond, Day didn’t eliminate the possibility. It’ll all be a matter of when someone finally grabs the mantle.
“There’s a chance. We’ll kind of figure it out, it’s hard to play the what-if,” Day said. “But we’re getting closer. If someone doesn’t emerge, you’ve got to come up with a plan. We have our head down, we’re just trying to work.”
