Quick Hits: Brian Hartline is “Excited” Devin Brown is QB1, Cade Stover and TreVeyon Henderson Will Play in Cotton Bowl and Xavier Johnson Says Buckeyes Must “Bring Our Best” Vs. Mizzou

After Jim Knowles and select members of Ohio State’s defense held press conferences at AT&T Stadium on Tuesday, Brian Hartline and select members of Ohio State’s offense took center stage on Wednesday.

Following the Buckeyes’ fourth practice at “Jerry's World,” Hartline, quarterback Devin Brown, running back TreVeyon Henderson, tight end Cade Stover and wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Xavier Johnson fielded questions from reporters.

Among the many topics discussed in their individual sessions, Hartline said he is “excited” to see Brown as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Stover and Henderson announced they will play in the Cotton Bowl, Egbuka praised Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss and Johnson said the Buckeyes will need to be "at our best" against a talented Missouri team.

Videos from the six media sessions, as well as bullet-point recaps of what each person said, can be found below.

OC Brian Hartline

• On Devin Brown: “He’s having a great bowl prep, and we’re excited that he’s out there. He brings a lot of good energy to practice. The guys are excited to have him running the show. But Devin’s done a great job preparing for this game. He knows the importance, and his work has resembled that.”
• On Xavier Johnson: “There’s nothing X can’t do. And he provides a lot of flexibility because of his skill set. And yeah, I mean, he’s definitely gonna be a major part of what we do through this bowl game.”
• Hartline said Cade Stover “is the backbone of this offense at times. He’s tough. He plays tough. He wants to his teammates to play tough. And he sets that standard offensively.”
• Hartline said he hopes “a lot of guys get to play” at wide receiver in the Cotton Bowl. “A lot of guys are gonna be ready to play. And based on how the game goes will dictate a lot of that.”
• Hartline said he takes pride in the fact that all of Ohio State’s wide receivers during his tenure so far have been players who joined the Buckeyes out of high school. But he acknowledges that might not always be the case since college football is ever-changing. “There’s only been two years of this. I can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like in five.”
• Hartline said Carnell Tate has “been ready” for the opportunity to play more. He said Tate likely would have played even more than he did during the regular season if he hadn’t been banged up coming out of camp. “If you look at our progression frankly as a freshman, whether it be Chris (Olave) or Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) or Garrett (Wilson), he’s right in that mold.”
• Hartline said Jeremiah Smith “never wavered” in his commitment despite all the flip rumors leading up to his signing. “He always told me the same thing. His parents always told me the same thing … They always did what they said.”
• Hartline said he thinks Missouri’s cornerbacks are talented and expects them to play a lot of man coverage. “That’s what they do. And they’re prideful of that. So gotta beat man-to-man coverage and look forward to the opportunity.”
• Hartline said consistency is a big reason why Brown didn’t win the starting quarterback job this year but he’s seen that evolve over the course of the season. “He’s done a really good job being on target.”
• Hartline said Ryan Day has been the primary play caller during games. Hartline says he’s “a big part of the conversation” when they’re putting the offensive game plan together during the week.
• Hartline said Brandon Inniss had a lot of ground to make up since he didn’t arrive until summer but “did a great job catching up quickly.” Hartline said Inniss’ “future is very bright” and he’s also been impressed with what he’s seen from fellow freshman slot receiver Bryson Rodgers.
• Incoming freshman Mylan Graham is “one heck of a football player.” Hartline said it feels like Graham is “already a part of the room” because of how much he’s come to Ohio State for visits and camps.
• Hartline declined to confirm that Marvin Harrison Jr. is opting out of playing in the Cotton Bowl. “Marv’s ready to roll if you ask him.”
• Hartline said Harrison has raised the bar in the wide receiver room not only with his play but with “the way he did everything” and “the way he prepared” on a daily basis.
• Hartline thinks Brown and Lincoln Kienholz are making one another better. “Peer-to-peer motivation, there’s nothing like it. To know there’s somebody on my tail, to know I have to bring my A-game every single day, allows game days to be much easier. And Devin and Lincoln are doing that to each other on a daily basis.”
• Hartline thinks Brown’s competition with Kyle McCord made him better, too. “I bet you there’s times where he looks back, and he’s probably glad that he was in that competition, because the competition then asked you to be the best version of yourself.”

QB Devin Brown

• On getting his first start in the Cotton Bowl: “What an opportunity for me. I’m super excited to show what I can do and help lead this team and go win this game.”
• Brown said he’s seen tremendous growth in his game from Week 1 to the end of the 2023 regular season and the Cotton Bowl: “I feel like I’ve always had that leadership even when I wasn’t the guy. It’s completely changed now. Guys are getting around me. I feel like I’ve glued this team back together after all this chaos that has happened, and now everybody is back together thinking about winning this game.”
• On the biggest adjustments he’s made to his game since the start of bowl practices: “Slowing the game down, honestly, not overthinking things, taking it play by play and doing what I can do.”
• On how Ohio State’s bowl practices have evolved from the start of December to now: “It’s been very different. We have our full game plan in, and we have had a whole month to prepare for it. It’s been good for me to see everything, all the looks, and slow everything down.”
• On his favorite throw to make: “Touchdowns. Touchdown throws.”
• On his performance in bowl practices: “I feel like I’ve stacked a great month together. This team has been well-prepared and well-coached. This thing has been rolling.”
• Brown said wearing a family-made bolo tie and changing from No. 15 to No. 33 are signals of the kind of confidence he has in himself. “I think it really helps. It drives my confidence, especially in myself. It’s like, ‘You’re here for a reason. You’ve been training your whole life to do this thing. Let’s go get it.’”
• On if he feels pressure to perform in the Cotton Bowl: “Obviously, there will be a little bit of pressure with the game. Even my family was asking, ‘Are you nervous about this game?’ And I said, ‘I’ve been playing this game since I was 7 years old. It’s the same game; it’s just in a different stadium.”
• Brown called Sammy Baugh, from whom he gained the inspiration to wear No. 33, a “tough SOB.” Brown said “there was nobody tougher than him” and “he played all over the place.”
• On Carnell Tate: “He’s super ready. He’s had this whole year to grow, and he’s done incredible things all season. He’s had great leaders in front of him – Marvin, Emeka, X, all those guys have really shaped who he is now. He’s gonna do big things.”
• On Emeka Egbuka: “Mek has always been a leader of that room. He’s a standout guy. He’s always gonna do everything he can.”
• On TreVeyon Henderson: “He’s such an explosive player. You have to honor him in the run game and the pass game. He’s a super smart player. You can trust him to do his job.”
• On his relationship with Ryan Day since Kyle McCord transferred: “It’s been good. In the film room, (the relationship) has completely changed. You know, there’s more game-plan-specific stuff. Being able to talk with him more one-on-one about the game plan has been very good for me.”
• When Brown lost the quarterback competition to McCord, Brown said Day told him, “This isn’t over. Don’t change anything you’ve been doing. Keep preparing like you’re the starter.” Brown took that mentality and ran with it throughout the regular season.
• Brown said there has been a confidence that has grown in him since the Purdue game. He said the ankle injury he suffered against Penn State did not cause that confidence to waver in any way.

RB TreVeyon Henderson

• Henderson will play in the Cotton Bowl, saying that any concerns he has about injuries or other factors have been eased by his trust in God.
• Henderson said that it “means a lot” that much of the junior class is playing against Missouri on Friday. He feels a lot of players are motivated by unachieved goals such as beating Michigan and winning the Big Ten.
• On his decision-making process for whether to leave for the NFL draft or stay another year: “I’m really just leaning on God to lead me toward my destiny and what he has planned for me. If I use my own understanding, I don’t know which way to go. So that’s why I lean on God, my father.”
• On Ohio State’s running back room without Chip Trayanum, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor: “It’s thin, man. I miss my brothers. Those are my brothers, man. But I know they have to do what’s best for themselves.”
• Henderson got a chance to talk to incoming freshman running back James Peoples on Wednesday as the signee was in attendance for Ohio State’s practice. “He’s going to be a good player, man. He’s got his head on straight.”
• On Dallan Hayden: “Dallan, he’s been doing great. He’s been taking the steps he needs to take and Dallan is a great player. He’s going to continue to get better and better.”
• On what a Cotton Bowl win would mean to him: “Every game I go in expecting to win, so coming out with this win, it’ll be special. We’ll definitely see Friday though.”
• There’s a different demeanor to Henderson than last season, and the running back said that’s because he converted to Christianity in April. “He changed my life for the better. My whole life, everything that I’ve been through, he turned that around.”
• Xavier Johnson and former wide receiver Kamryn Babb were big influences on Henderson’s faith journey, he said, alongside players like Emeka Egbuka and Gee Scott Jr.
• Tribulations at the end of his sophomore year are what made Henderson decide to start his faith journey, he said. “I was just going through a rough time in my life, because football was my life. My life was built on football. I was also trying to seek God at the same time and just figure out who God is. So when I came to him, he literally sat me down, had me look back over my whole life and he helped me realize how I've been living my whole life the wrong way. And he helped me understand how much that I needed him in my life and how lost I was, and he found me. And he saved me, he saved my life.”
• Henderson said he’s unsure of when he’ll make his NFL draft decision, but trusts that God will give him clarity on things. “Right now it’s kind of foggy, but as my (favorite) bible verse says, in 2 Corinthians 5:7, ‘I walk by faith, not by sight.’ So even though I can't see what's going on right now, why it's taking so long for me to decide, I trust God's timing.”

TE Cade Stover

• Stover says he’s playing in the Cotton Bowl despite still having an injured knee because “I signed up for a full year.” He says he doubts he will play every snap, but he will play.
• On the opportunity this game presents: “For the young guys, it’s your time to show what you can do. Mark a little territory of what you’re gonna do next year and older guys, like I said, just go out on the right note.”
• On the growth he’s seen from Devin Brown in bowl practices: “Once you get the spot and you know it’s your spot, you already get better just by knowing that. I think he’s done well. I think he’s maturing well. I think he’s gonna be a very good player.”
• Stover said he doesn’t want him his cousin Garrett Stover to be compared to him. “I want him to be 100 times better than me and write his own story. Don’t worry about what I did, just do what’s right.”
• Stover thinks coming back to Ohio State for his fifth year was “one of the best decisions of my life.” He thinks he’s more mature now and that he “didn’t really know much of anything” about playing the tight end position when he looks back to a year ago.
• On the lack of opt-outs: “I think it kind of speaks to who we got as a team, as people. We got a lot of really, really good guys over here.” He said he didn’t try to persuade anyone to play because everyone had to make their own decision.
• On Tommy Eichenberg: “He’s one of the best linebackers in my opinion to ever play through here. And without him, I don’t think I’m still here this long. That’s my best friend. That’s the best man in my wedding. I’ll go to war with that dude any day of the week, whatever he needs. For what he’s done, to keep his mouth shut about it and how he handled stuff, that’s a special, special dude.”
• On moving forward from the loss to Michigan: “Wounds take time to heal, so we took a little bit of that time and then again, the sun comes up the next day.”
• On Keenan Bailey: “That’s a special dude. That’s a big reason why I did decide to come back this year, a big reason why I feel like we had a successful year as a team. I think he’s a really special player, I think he does an awesome job of what he does and he’s the kind of guy you can trust.”

WR Emeka Egbuka

• Egbuka is still undecided on his NFL draft future, he said.
• After licking its wounds from the Michigan loss, Egbuka said the team’s full focus is on the Tigers. “The focus has always been turning toward Missouri. You can’t do anything to change the past.”
• On being Ohio State’s top passing option entering Friday, assuming Mavin Harrison Jr. doesn’t play: “That's not my mindset going into the game. (It’s) just another opportunity to play with my best friends at a great venue like this. Can't be too mad at it.”
• On the extra rest bowl prep provided him to recover from his lower-body injury: “Every day you’re gaining another percent back from an injury. So having a little bit of time off to get my body right has been huge, especially with the training staff that we have.”
• Egbuka said it was frustrating not being at 100 percent after his injury, but he’s not feeling self-pity about it. “This is football. I've never heard of an uninjured football player throughout their entire career. So there's no ‘Woah is me’ because everyone gets hurt in football, it's kind of something you have to come to grips with and face.”
• On what’s gotten him through the tough times: “The ultimate source of everything, which is Jesus Christ. He's been my rock through all of this. And he's gotten me through all the hard times all the ups and downs.”
• Egbuka was sad that he couldn’t share the field with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the star receiver’s final year due to an injury to Smith-Njigba but is excited to see him succeeding with the Seattle Seahawks. “He's doing great in the NFL, scoring game-winners every other week. So I'm super proud of him and excited for what he's doing in Seattle, my home city.”
• On Carnell Tate: “I feel like Carnell, Marv and I, we all share certain similarities when we were young guys as freshmen. We just came in with a sense of, ‘I want to handle my business. I’m not here for any of the rah rah stuff, I just want to come here, play the best football I can and grow as a player.’”
• Egbuka doesn’t know exactly what the future holds for Ohio State’s receivers room, but he’s confident it will be bright. “I can’t say that I know what it’ll look like, but I know Zone Six is gonna find a way. We’ve always trended up in the right direction.”
• On Brown: “Devin Brown is a super positive player. Not the innate traits that he was gifted by God, his arm, his legs, all that type of stuff, It's the personality he's accumulated over the field, just being immersed in the culture of Ohio State, (that’s) something that really sticks out with Devin. And he's the first one to greet you after he makes a good pass. He's dapping up all the linemen after great blocking. He's just a positive energy to be around.”

WR Xavier Johnson

• Johnson said he’s done his best to “stop and smell the roses” this week during practice as he prepares to play in his final game for Ohio State.
• On Missouri’s defense: “They play hard. They’re coached well. There’s a lot of good players and they’re a good team. Obviously, we need to play a highly competitive game. We need to bring our best.”
• On what he’s seen from Devin Brown: “I think we’ve seen exactly who Devin is as a quarterback. He’s done a great job of making the position his own. For me, a big thing is to be yourself. I think that’s necessary to have success. I’m glad he’s taking that next step and you see the maturation of him from day-to-day.
• On Carnell Tate: “He came in and handled his business like a grown man. I’m so blessed to be able to be his roommate in camp and see how he approaches the game at a young age.”
• Johnson said he doesn’t know if there’s one singular memory he’ll cherish the most from his time at OSU, but he knows he’ll relish all of it. “I came in as a young man, selfish, I was about taking the world by storm. I went through tribulations and triumphs. Obviously, there was a lot that happened with the maturing process, I’m walking out as someone I’m proud of.”
• On Brandon Inniss and Noah Rogers: “I think I’ve seen elite playmaking ability (from them). They were highly touted in high school for a reason. They have all the tools, all the speed, all the elusiveness, all the intangibles you need as a receiver, they have it. So watching them over the last month maturing through the bowl prep is really a blessing. Guys have an opportunity to show what they can do and propel themselves into the next season. They’ve done that in a great way.”
• On what the win would mean for him as a send-off: “Not only to me, but for Buckeye nation and my brothers who are coming back. Bowl season has kind of been minimized in the playoff era, but a mature team realizes you’re setting yourself up for the next season. For us to go out and win, it gives ourselves some ability to hang our hat on how we finished the season. It being my last game, I’ll give it my all to help get that accomplished.”