Ohio State quarterbacks Air Noland (12), Mason Maggs (16), Devin Brown (33) and Will Howard (18) during open practice on Tuesday.Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Devin Brown is looking to rewrite his story after falling just short in the quarterback competition last season.
“I have total confidence in the world. I never doubt myself,” Brown said. “I'm always going to think I'm the best quarterback in this room and the best quarterback in the country.”
Throughout the spring, summer, fall, and even two games of the 2023 season, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has no choice but to decide who will be the Buckeyes' starting quarterback: sophomore Brown or junior Kyle. McCord or I went back and forth. Despite calling it a “close game” for several weeks, Day ultimately settled on McCord and benched Brown.
Now that McCord has left for Syracuse, Brown's path to a starting spot appears to be paved — or is it?
Ohio State entered its first spring practice Tuesday with five scholarship quarterbacks, an almost unprecedented number, including five-star early enrollees Air Noland and Julian Sain. This includes two people. Freshman Lincoln Kienholtz and Will Howard, a senior who transferred from Kansas State, round out the five.
“That's Ohio State, which means no matter what happens, we always have the best players,” Brown said. “I didn't care who came in here. I never cared who was here.”
Brown appeared in six games last season and made his first start in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri State on Dec. 29, 2023. He passed for 217 yards and two touchdowns and ran for one against Purdue. But his season was plagued by his ankle injury, and when he left the bowl game with a limp on his left leg, he said he felt like he had a chance to show his prowess and was robbed of it. Told.
But the difference this time is that he had a whole offseason to recover. Brown said it's impossible to make a full recovery midway through the season, but this time it's different.
Additionally, he now wears cleats with added ankle protection and will never run on the field without tape. On Tuesday, he was seen working in the first-team offense with Kienholtz and Howard (heavily taped).
“Both times my cleat just stuck in the ground, but there were things I could have done to strengthen my ankle again,” Brown said. “It's definitely going to be taped up from now on, I'm going to wear bigger cleats and I'm going to be as careful as possible.”
Assuming Brown's ankle is intact, Kienholtz and Howard still have some hoops to jump through. Both Kienholtz and Howard said they are ready to compete with Brown for the starting spot.
Kienholz replaced Brown in the Cotton Bowl, completing 6-of-17 passes for 86 yards. He said playing in that game gave him valuable experience and confidence that he could use to compete for a starting job, but he knows he still needs time to fully develop. he said.
“I’m pretty young and this is my first spring, so I haven’t really gone through the process yet,” Kienholz said. “If I come in and I’m that guy, great, but if I’m not, I have another year to build on it.”
With four years of experience as a starter, Howard could make a strong case, especially when combined with a strong spring. During his time at Kansas State, he threw for his 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns, and he also rushed for 19 touchdowns.
Brown and Kienholz said Day spoke directly with both about why the coaching staff decided to scout Howard through the transfer portal. Coach Brown said he considers Howard a good addition and is looking forward to the high level of competition he will face, while Howard expressed similar confidence.
“I have another year to go. I didn't come here to be nervous or timid or anything like that,” Howard said. “I'm ready. The truth is, everything might not be perfect and I might make some mistakes. But that's how I learn, that's how we learn as players. 'It's a method' team. Nothing is too big for me and nothing is too big for this team.
Quarterbacks have 14 practices left before the April 13 spring game. Brown has been in this position before, but he's officially ready to “unleash the flames,” he said.
