Devin Brown’s rapid transition from sitting on the bench to throwing a touchdown pass last weekend at Michigan State gave him an adrenaline rush unlike any he’s ever experienced before in his Ohio State career.
With Ohio State leading by only 10 points and driving down the field in the final minute of the first half, Brown wasn’t expecting to enter the game. When starting quarterback Will Howard took a hard hit to the midsection and got the wind knocked out of him, however, OSU called on Brown to enter the game as it faced a crucial 3rd-and-10 at the 17-yard line.
Brown only had time to make a couple of warmup throws before he ran onto the field for the play, so his legs were still stiff from spending the entire first half watching on the sideline. But when Ryan Day and Chip Kelly instructed Brown to take a shot to the end zone with their sights set on taking a 17-point lead into the locker room, Brown put the ball where only Jeremiah Smith could catch it, resulting in a spectacular one-handed touchdown grab by the freshman phenom.
JEREMIAH SMITH ONE-HANDED CATCH FOR THE TD!!!@OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/ZbZ8vSLFGr
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 29, 2024
Brown was so excited by the moment that he didn’t know what to say nor did his body know what to do.
“Me and (running back TreVeyon Henderson) were laughing about this on Sunday morning during our lift, and, like, we weren't even speaking English at each other,” Brown recalled Wednesday. “We were just yelling at each other, like screaming after the play. And I came over to the sideline when I sat down, and I was, like, shaking because I had so much adrenaline going. It was just a crazy moment.
“I thought I was going to throw up. I was just, like, so juiced up. … My mom said I jumped up and did the splits or something, like in the air. I really don't even remember. It was just a blur.”
Hes not real. - @dbrownqb33 pic.twitter.com/5zgQeMytou
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 29, 2024
As Ohio State’s backup quarterback, Brown isn’t where he’d like to be on the depth chart in his third year as a Buckeye. When Brown decided to stay at Ohio State this season after backing up Kyle McCord last season, even after OSU brought Howard in from the transfer portal, he did so with a belief in himself that he would still win the starting job.
Brown isn’t sulking about still being a backup, though. Instead, he’s working harder than ever before to make sure he’s ready to play any time his number 33 is called.
“Obviously, there's going to be a little disappointment,” Brown said of being told in August that Howard would be the starter. “But at the end of the day, I'm here to be a Buckeye. And I knew they were going to make the best decision for this team. So I just got to keep doing everything I can in my power to get myself better and help this team.”
Brown says he’ll arrive at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as early as 6:30 a.m. to meet with Ohio State’s coaches and watch film. Knowing that there are only so many reps to go around for him and Ohio State’s three other scholarship backup quarterbacks since Howard is the starter, Brown tries to put in as much as work as he can outside of practice to continue honing his craft.
While his place on the depth chart hasn’t changed from last year, Brown believes his approach to playing the quarterback position is completely different than it was a year ago.
“1,000 percent,” Brown said when asked if he feels like a different quarterback than he was last year. “My mental state has been different. My attitude towards the game has been different. Just my whole approach I feel like has been completely different.”
Outside of that one snap at the end of the first half last weekend, all of Brown’s other 47 snaps this season have come in late-game action after the Buckeyes began pulling their starters out of the game. While Ohio State drew up some opportunities for Brown to enter the game with the first-team offense last season to provide a running threat from the quarterback position, he’s only likely to play with the game on the line if something happens to Howard this season since Howard is an adept runner himself.
That one play at Michigan State and the subsequent result, though, served as validation for Brown of why he needs to stay ready to play at all times.
“I think last year, there was never a situation where I had to do that,” Brown said of suddenly entering a game due to an injury to the starting quarterback. “So actually going through it and understanding what it's really like, I think it definitely puts it into perspective that I really do need to be ready at any moment.”
“I came over to the sideline when I sat down, and I was, like, shaking because I had so much adrenaline going. It was just a crazy moment.”– Devin Brown on his touchdown pass at Michigan State
While he threw two touchdown passes in backup duty and also ran for a touchdown last season, he said last week’s touchdown is his favorite play he’s had as a Buckeye because of the circumstances it came under.
“I think just knowing that I didn't know I was going to go in, you know, didn't know when I had to be ready or anything,” Brown said of what made the touchdown pass at Michigan State extra special.
Although he’d love to be starting himself, Brown is rooting for Howard’s success, saying he believes his bond with Howard is one of the closest between two players on the entire team. And Howard couldn’t have been prouder of Brown for stepping up and throwing a touchdown when Howard had to leave the game for a play.
“I thought Devin did an unbelievable job of being ready when his number was called, and that's competitive excellence,” Howard said after the game. “We talk about that all the time. I really think that throw and that catch right there that those two made, that really sealed the game, and I think they kind of put them out of it. I'm just so proud of Devin for stepping in and being ready. You never know what's going to happen. I just got the wind knocked out of me, and you've got to come out for a play. So it is what it is. And he went out in there and made the play, and it was big-time.”
Despite picking Howard to start over him, Day and Kelly showed their faith in Brown by dialing up a play for Brown to throw a touchdown pass rather than making a conservative call to preserve a field goal attempt. Kelly, who is in his first year as Ohio State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, says he’s pleased with the development he’s seen from Brown this year.
“Devin's done a great job,” Kelly said Tuesday. “I think obviously not being the starter is difficult for anybody, but he's been amazing as a backup in terms of what he's like in the room. And he's, as we talk all the time, a chinstrap away from going in the game. And he was. Will got knocked out, we got to get another quarterback in the game, he goes in the game and throws a 17-yard touchdown, avoiding a blitz coming off the backside. So really happy where he is right now.”
Brown says it’s a big confidence-booster for him to be called upon to make a play with the game on the line and to prove to himself that he can do it, and Day sees that as something he can build off of as his development continues.
“We talk about confidence all the time, like what is real confidence? There's fake confidence and there's real confidence. Real confidence means you've actually done it, you look somebody in the eye and you know I'm gonna go do it again. And so, when you actually physically do it, I think it builds real confidence in you,” Day said Wednesday. “So for him to step up in that moment in a big spot, not only was it a two-minute drill but it was also in the red zone at the end of the half, two big situations to win right there. And so, you know, it's gotta give him a little bit of juice this week. I feel like it has, I think he's had a good week of practice.”
It remains uncertain whether Brown – whose first and to this point only start as a Buckeye in last year’s Cotton Bowl was cut short by an ankle injury – will ever get the opportunity to be Ohio State’s long-term starting quarterback. While Howard is a fifth-year senior in his final season of collegiate eligibility, current freshman and third-string quarterback Julian Sayin is seen by many as Ohio State’s future at the position and will be a major contender for the starting job next year.
For now, all Brown can do is continue preparing himself to be ready whenever opportunities to play do come his way. And he views every opportunity he gets to play, no matter the game time or situation, as another opportunity to show he can be trusted to play more if needed going forward.
“Any time you get in the game, I think it's an audition for next year or even for this year because you never know what's going to happen,” Brown said. “You never know when you're going to have to be ready and when your number's called.”
