Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day officially announced earlier this month that Will Howard would be the team’s starting quarterback, and now he has announced his replacement.

It will be Devin Brown (h/t Dan Hope from Eleven Warriors).

This isn’t a huge surprise, as Day listed Brown as the favorite for the backup job a few weeks ago when he named Howard the starter. However, Day has never made anything official until now.

Julian Sayin was in the running for the No. 2 position, but the fact that Brown ultimately beat out the rookie should come as no surprise.

Brown came to Ohio State in 2022 but didn’t see any playing time until last season, when he completed 16 of 28 passes for 217 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

Of course, the 20-year-old still has to prove himself, but he is familiar with the Buckeyes’ system and seems to be the most reliable option behind Howard.

In fact, at the start of the offseason, there was no guarantee that Howard would even earn a starting spot, and Brown was probably the biggest competitor.

However, there is a clear pecking order at this point.

“Devin has shown he can do pretty much anything we’ve asked of him,” Day said of Hope earlier this month. “He just needs to be consistent and take care of the football to make sure he does a great job going forward. If he can do that, he can play and contribute.”

Ohio State will open its regular season this Saturday by hosting Akron.