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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord (6) Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Ohio State names starter but still open to two-QB approach

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 8/29/23

The Ohio State Buckeyes have two quarterbacks who could start on pretty much any other team in the country.

As such, it’s no surprise that head coach Ryan Day had a difficult time deciding which of Kyle McCord or Devin Brown would be the starting QB for the Buckeyes in their season opener on Sept. 2 against Indiana.

Day ultimately landed on McCord, but he also stated just because Brown is the backup doesn't mean he'll fail to see the field.

"I think that's significant, that we have two guys that we feel confident playing in a game," Day told reporters on Tuesday. "This is something that's a little uncharted territory for me. You just go on what you see every day in practice. I think that Kyle's consistency the last couple weeks has allowed him to be the starter and he deserves that. But I also think Devin deserves to play in the game as well. How much, all that, that's still to be determined."

Ryan Day sat down with Kyle McCord and Devin Brown today to tell them that McCord would start on Saturday.

"They both agreed... They both agreed it was fair. They both shared they want to do what is best for the team."

"They were both great. They are excited to play."
— Chase Brown (@chaseabrown__) August 29, 2023

Though McCord is the starter for the first game, Day’s comments seem to suggest his commitment to the 6-foot-3 junior isn’t set in stone. Ohio State is a 30-point favorite over Indiana, so Day could use the game as an audition of sorts to determine which QB is the better long-term option.

“I think the first thing is you just have to go watch them play in the game,” Day added. “It's one thing in practice — you see certain things but to get tackled and to move the team down the field, finish off drives, do well on third down, do well in the red zone — that's going to continue to play itself out during the season, and there's been teams that have done this similar before.

"…I just don't have a crystal ball on this, and I'm not sure how it is going to shake out. But I think what we're doing is fair based on what we see in this preseason.”

"What we can't do is ride the roller coaster every game, we will go into each game with a plan and evaluate after that"

The plan for Indiana is for Kyle McCord to start, but Devin Brown will play.

Even though Kyle will start, Day said there is not a sizeable gap right now: pic.twitter.com/7NBNqNXKxm
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) August 29, 2023

McCord has the edge in experience. He spent the last two years backing up C.J. Stroud, seeing limited action in a few games. The junior signal-caller only has 58 career pass attempts, but he’s completed 41 of them for 606 yards and three touchdowns.

Brown enrolled at Ohio State last January. He was the No. 6-ranked quarterback and No. 43 overall player in the class of 2022, per the 247Sports composite rankings. He threw for nearly 8,000 yards and 85 touchdowns in high school and was named the MaxPreps Utah Player of the Year as a senior.

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