Both Kyle McCord, Devin Brown Accept Buckeyes Starting QB Decision
Since the spring, the biggest question on Ohio State's campus was who the Buckeyes' starting quarterback would be.
Head coach Ryan Day answered that Tuesday when he announced that Kyle McCord would take the first snap, but that Devin Brown would also play against the Indiana Hoosiers. Day said the quarterback battle has been neck and neck throughout camp, and upon telling both that McCord would take the first snap in Bloomington Saturday, there was no disagreement.
"I asked them their feedback," Day said. "They said no. 'Is it fair?' and they both agreed it was fair to go with both of them together. They both shared that they want to do what's best for the team, and that's great."
But what does a two-quarterback offense look like? There were glimpses of it during the Buckeyes' 2015 season between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett, but as the season went on, the latter emerged and retook the starting role.
This time around — Day's first instance not having a clear-cut starting quarterback — he said the current plan is to play both early on while the game is still competitive.
"We still got a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday practice here, and we'll keep tabs on how that goes," Day said. "I assume that they'll continue to work the way they've worked and prepare the way they've done that and run the plays that we're going to run in the game at a high level. If something were to change, then we'll make an adjustment from there."
Day said there isn't a "sizable gap" between the two, but McCord's consistency over the last "10-14 days" led to him being the one to take the first snap at Memorial Stadium.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, a fellow Philadelphia native, sang his praises for he and McCord's alma mater, St. Joseph's Prep. However, as for McCord's talents on the field, Knowles said he is a "calm, collected, composed" quarterback.
"Cool, level-headed, doesn't make a lot of mistakes, strong arm" Knowles said. "When you're going against a quarterback like that, I think that gives everybody confidence. He's just that kind of guy."
Day said the competition between McCord and Brown is healthy and that he has confidence in either quarterback to have success on the field.
"That's significant that we have two guys that we feel confident playing in the game," Day said. "This is something that's a little uncharted territory for me, but you just go on what you see every day in practice."
