Many thought there would be some interesting news — ahem, think quarterback competition — coming out of Ohio State football’s fall camp on Monday because of a press conference rescheduled from Wednesday. But it wasn’t that.
In fact, aside from news about redshirt freshman tight end Bennett Christian being suspended for usage of a banned substance, there wasn’t anything noteworthy in the presser other than a nothing-new update on the quarterback competition to replace former Heisman finalist C.J. Stroud.
When asked where the competition stood between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown, Day confirmed it is ongoing and still very tight.
“There have been good things and there have been things they want back. I appreciate their competitiveness. They’re going at it every day. We are not ready to name a starter right now. The competition will continue this week.
“I do wish that somebody had really emerged,” Day continued. “I don’t think, right now, it’s two guys that are just blowing it out of the water to where you’re like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t know who’s going to play.’ But it’s also not like they’re not doing well either. There’s really good play out there, there’s ability. Now we’re just looking for consistency.”
As far as the timeline and what the timing is, Day said he’s not really going to rush things and but that it’s getting close to the situation not being clear before the game against Indiana.
“That’s something we have to decide this week, probably,” Day said. “Are we ready to name someone by the end of the week or does the competition continue into the season? That’s not ideal, but if that’s where we’re at, that’s what we’ll do.”
The Ohio State QB battle continues, the O-line is gaining clarity but remains unsettled, TreVeyon Henderson impresses, and more. What we learned from Ryan Day's press conference today. https://t.co/6L0B8nOkao
— Bill Rabinowitz 🗞 (@brdispatch) August 14, 2023
In the last two quarterback competitions, right about now is when a starter was named. Both Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud separated themselves and went on to become two of the most prolific quarterbacks in OSU history. Both became Heisman finalists. In fact, most thought a starter might be named on Monday because of the rescheduled presser.
“That probably would have been about the right time,” Day said. “But we thought the right thing to do was have the press conference today to talk about the scrimmage before we get some of the other guys with you guys (for interviews). In C.J. (Stroud’s) or Justin (Fields’) year, it was probably about that time (that we named them the starter), practice 12 or 13. But we’re not there right now.”
So onward we go. On one hand it would be nice to have clarity under center so that things can go full prep for what everyone hopes is another season where the Buckeyes make a run at some special things. However, if neither has taken control of things, then it doesn’t make sense to just name a guy.
As this thing continues on, we’ll of course be on top of it.
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