Ryan Day revealed an interesting tidbit when asked about the timeline of his quarterback decision on Thursday.
Having already named Will Howard the team's starter and dove into the backup options behind him, led by Devin Brown, Day talked about why the competition between Kyle McCord and Brown to be the starting quarterback last season drug through the first few weeks of the regular season.
In doing so, he revealed that Brown was the leader midway through preseason camp.
"At this time last year I thought Devin was going to be the starter, and Kyle just kind of came on, and down the stretch (of preseason camp) really did a great job," Day said. "And so, going into those first couple games, I couldn't look the team in the eye and say that he's the starter, because they know what they see, and that's a big part is the locker room. And then (McCord) won it in the first couple weeks, and then kind of went from there."
Running replays of what could or should or would have been is often a fool's errand. Still, it's interesting to think about what Ohio State's offense might have looked like if Brown won the starting job at the beginning of last season.
McCord's numbers were serviceable, but serviceable isn't the Ohio State standard under Ryan Day, who churned out three consecutive Heisman Trophy finalists and first-round NFL draft picks at the position as an offensive coordinator or head coach prior to McCord. He completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions.
There were several flaws in his game, however. Per Pro Football Focus, his completion percentage was 72% when kept clean in the pocket and dipped all the way to 39.2% when he came under pressure, going from 10.9 yards per attempt to 4.9. For reference, the only team with a worse yards per pass attempt than 4.9 last year was Iowa's mark of 4.8. He also provided little to no rushing threat, finishing with -65 rushing yards.
For throwing only six picks, one came at possibly the worst time it could have, an interception that set up a Michigan touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter of The Game. Ohio State never led the contest.
Brown tried to get involved in blowouts and in a specialty red zone package that took advantage of his running ability, but he suffered an ankle injury against Penn State midway through the season. He aggravated it in warmups trying to return against Michigan State and was knocked out of the Cotton Bowl with another ankle injury.
This year, Howard provided a lot more certainty about who Ohio State's starter would be.
"I think that when it's really, really close and the locker room is divided, it's a little bit different," Day said. "I don't know if that's the situation here, but I think right now, again, I think that the team feels Will and feels his presence. So I don't think it's gonna be huge news to the locker room. I think they see it, and I think maybe just a little bit of (relief to have the starter named).
"But I think it's a little bit different when it's just like neck and neck and you gotta make that call. Because everybody has their thoughts on that. They're with these guys year-round. Devin's done a nice job as well. Don't get me wrong. I mean, he's shown good leadership, but I just think on the field, Will has separated himself."
“I think that the team feels Will and feels his presence. So I don't think it's gonna be huge news to the locker room.”– Ryan Day on Will Howard
Heading into his third year at Ohio State, Brown has continued progressing in the offense as he's now battling with Julian Sayin and perhaps Lincoln Kienholz, per offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, to back up Howard.
“Devin has shown the ability to do just about everything we asked him to do,” Day said. “It’s the consistency part and taking care of the football part that he’s just got to make sure that he does a great job of moving forward. If he can do that, then he can play and be a contributor for it. I reminded (all of the QBs) again, we all know the story of Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller. I also shared with them that (former TCU quarterback) Max Duggan was a backup the first couple weeks of the year he was a Heisman finalist. A big part of being a quarterback is resilience and continuing to work.”
Where Brown feels he's seen the most growth is in his accuracy and consistency, which he received some help for in the form of some private coaching during the offseason.
“I would say just consistency, honestly,” Brown said of his biggest offseason improvement. “Working with Jordan Palmer and Mike White (of QB Summit) in California this offseason, I think that's been a huge help for me, being more consistent with my mechanics and everything. And so throwing the ball, I feel I'm more consistent.”
With Howard now in control of the starting job, Brown will continue his development as a backup quarterback – likely Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback – for the second year in a row.
