Ryan Day revealed an interesting piece of information when asked about the timeline of his quarterback decision on Thursday.
Having already named Will Howard the team’s starter and discussed the backup options behind him, led by Devin Brown, Day talked about why the competition between Kyle McCord and Brown for the starting quarterback spot last season dragged on into the first few weeks of the regular season.
He revealed that Brown was the leader in the middle of preseason training.
“This time last year, I thought Devin was going to be the starter, and Kyle just came in and really did a great job in the home stretch (of training camp),” Day said. “Going into the first couple of games, I couldn’t look the team in the eye and say he’s the starter, because they know what they see, and that’s a big part of the locker room. And then (McCord) won the first couple weeks and then it kind of went from there.”
Playing replays of what could have been, should have been, or would have been is often a futile endeavor, but it’s interesting to think about what Ohio State’s offense would have looked like had Brown won the starting job early last season.
McCord’s numbers were passable, but passable is not the standard at Ohio State under Ryan Day, who produced three consecutive Heisman Trophy finalists and NFL first-round draft picks at the position before McCord was offensive coordinator or head coach. He completed 65.8% of his passes for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions.
However, his game had several weaknesses. According to Pro Football Focus, his completion rate was 72% when he was kept clean in the pocket and dropped to 39.2% under pressure, going from 10.9 yards per attempt to 4.9. For comparison, the only team with fewer yards per pass attempt than 4.9 last year was Iowa at 4.8. He also posed little to no rushing threat, finishing with -65 rushing yards.
Although they only intercepted six balls, one of them came at the worst possible time: an interception that allowed Michigan to score a touchdown that started the game’s first scoring drive of the first quarter. Ohio State never had the lead.
Brown attempted to participate in blowouts and a special red zone package that utilized his running ability, but he suffered an ankle injury midseason against Penn State. He aggravated it in warmups in his comeback against Michigan State and exited the Cotton Bowl with another ankle injury.
This year, Howard provided much more certainty about who Ohio State’s starter would be.
“I think 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 case here, but I think right now the team is feeling Will and his presence. So I don’t think that’s going to be big news for the locker room. I think they see it and I think maybe just a little bit of (relief that the starter was named).”
“But I think it’s a little different when it’s head to head and you have to make that decision. Because everyone has their opinion on it. You’re around those guys all year. Devin has done a good job too. Don’t get me wrong. I mean, he’s shown good leadership, but I think on the field, Will has separated himself.”
“I think the team feels Will and his presence. So I don’t think it will be big news in the locker room.”– Ryan Day on Will Howard
In his third year at Ohio State University, Brown has continued to make strides on offense and is currently battling with Julian Sayin and, according to offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, possibly Lincoln Kienholz for Howard’s backup.
“Devin has shown he can do just about anything we’ve asked of him,” Day said. “He just needs to be consistent and pay attention to the football to make sure he does a great job going forward. If he can do that, he can play and contribute. I reminded (all the quarterbacks) again that we all know the story of Cardale Jones, JT Barrett and Braxton Miller. I also told them that (former TCU quarterback) Max Duggan was used as a backup for the first few weeks of the year he was a Heisman finalist. A big part of being a quarterback is resilience and consistent work.”
Brown believes he has improved the most in the areas of accuracy and consistency, with private coaching helping him during the offseason.
“Honestly, just consistency,” Brown said of his biggest improvement in the offseason. “I think working with Jordan Palmer and Mike White (of QB Summit) in California helped me a lot this offseason because I’ve become more consistent in my technique and everything. And when I throw the ball, I think I’m more consistent.”
With Howard now in the starting position, Brown will continue his development into a backup quarterback – likely Ohio State’s second quarterback – for the second year in a row.
