Kyle McCord, Devin Brown emerging as vocal leaders in absence of C.J. Stroud

COLUMBUS — Devin Brown remembers calling his dad from the hospital.

The Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback had just fractured the pinkie finger on his throwing hand ahead of the Buckeyes’ spring game.

A fierce competitor, Brown is as fiery as his red hair. But, in that moment, he was stoic.

“I told him I broke my finger and I’m gonna need surgery,” Brown said Wednesday, recounting his phone conversation with his dad. “His first reaction was, ‘Why aren’t you upset?’”

Brown continued: “I was like, ‘At the end of the day, I’m gonna miss one week [of spring ball]. I’m gonna grow from this.’ … This wasn’t a [setback] at all for me. If anything, it was a step up. And that was my mindset through the whole thing, is this is gonna really help me.”

Maybe not as a passer — after all, a now-healthy Brown admitted it was a “little awkward” when he first started gripping a football in his recovery — but as a leader.

“When I hurt my finger, I wasn’t able to do anything,” Brown explained. “I wasn’t able to do much of the lifts. But, to be able to be in that locker room and in that weight room and just being able to vocalize myself and get guys going and push guys, shows guys that I’m here to do this thing.”

At the time nursing a finger injury on his throwing hand, redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Brown looks on during the Ohio State spring game. (Joseph Scheller/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Fifth-year Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day also met with the media in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Wednesday and spoke extensively about the quarterback competition, his own experience in one at New Hampshire back in the late ’90s and what he’s learned about managing the position over the years.

Day noted that there’s an analytical component of quarterback evaluation. Along with Buckeyes quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis, offensive analyst Todd Fitch and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, Day will chart his quarterback’s team work, 7-on-7 performances, drive lengths, turnover counts — the list goes on.

At the same time, however, there’s the “eyeball test.”

“What do you see when someone walks in the huddle or before a drive?” Day said. “Or on that 3rd-and-3 or in the red zone when the game’s on the line, what’s that going to look like? Because, to me, that’s where quarterbacks are at their best. When you have to have to win the game, they’re the most competitive guy on the field.”

The word “competitive” can manifest itself in different ways, Day explained: It happened when the late Dwayne Haskins, a prototypical pocket passer, had to win with his feet against upset-minded Maryland in 2018; it happened again during the 2020 season when Justin Fields fought through broken ribs to throw six touchdown passes and avenge Ohio State’s College Football Playoff loss to Clemson; it happened once more last year when C.J. Stroud put his body on the line to nearly beat Georgia and send the Buckeyes to the national title game.

“Like, that’s what we want. We want the most competitive guy on the field,” Day reiterated. “And it doesn’t happen overnight. But that’s what we’re working toward.”

Day added: “A big part of it is who they are as people, what’s going on off the field, what’s going on in the locker room. Because those guys have to believe in the quarterback. And that’s a huge part of it. It starts in the weight room. … The guys see the work that’s put in, they see the leadership. The ability to stand up in front of a group of guys and project and talk to them and lead them. Those all matter. We put them in front of the group in competitive situations to see who’s going to win. The team has to believe in the quarterback.”

Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord (left), now a junior, stands by head coach Ryan Day (right) during the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes’ 2021 game against Michigan State. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord started the first scrimmage of this year’s spring season slow but finished strong.

And with some juice.

The normally reserved McCord, who backed up Stroud the last two years and even made his first career start as a true freshman in 2021, picked up steam at the end of that practice, especially in the red zone.

Near the goal line, McCord quarterbacked three straight touchdown plays.

First he found true freshman tight end Jelani Thurman in the flat for six, but Thurman was called down at the 1-yard line. Then McCord called his own number on a keeper to cross the goal line, but he was ruled short by the Buckeyes staff, which was clearly trying to work goal line offense.

Except, a fired-up McCord was already celebrating. He rifled the ball toward the rafters of the Woody and was swarmed by his offensive teammates like a bunch of ants crowding a food crumb.

“I think that is just kind of the joy and the competitive nature when it comes to playing this game,” McCord said Wednesday while reflecting upon that spring moment. “I mean it’s played and coached by the most competitive people on the planet. Just having that energy and having that joy of playing football, I think that’s where that kind of comes from.

“And it’s been natural. When C.J. was here, it was obviously his team. But now that he’s gone, just being able to kind of step into that new leadership role, being more vocal and just kind of letting my true colors show, I think that’s kind of where that comes from.”

After the dust settled from the McCord sandwich, the third-year signal caller got back under center, took the snap and handed the ball off to sophomore running back Dallan Hayden, who plowed into the paint for the scrimmage-winning score.

McCord’s touchdown run stuck out, though. Because it showed who McCord can be.

“I think you watch the best guys, like [Tom] Brady, [Joe] Burrow and [Aaron] Rodgers,” McCord said. “They obviously all have different styles of play, but they’re all very vocal guys.

“I think that was kind of the next step in my in my leadership process, was being heard. And I think this offseason, I did a good job of getting up talking to the team.”

Ohio State quarterbacks Kyle McCord (left), C.J. Stroud (middle) and Devin Brown (right) warm up before a game against Indiana during the 2022 season. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)

Like McCord, Brown also didn’t want to encroach Stroud’s place as the quarterback voice of the team last year.

Brown said he’s always had leadership qualities, but he was a third-string quarterback and a first-year college football player at the time.

“Coming in as a freshman behind C.J. Stroud, it’s like what are you gonna vocalize?” Brown said. “I had don’t done anything on the field or anything.”

Brown went on: “Even still, I haven’t done anything on the field. But they see me in spring, they’ve seen me vocalize myself, and I think they trust me.”

Trust is key. It goes back to what Day spoke of above. A team has to believe in its quarterback.

Seventh-year Oregon State transfer Tristan Gebbia has been around for a while. His college career began at Nebraska back in 2017. And, before that, he was a counselor at Steve Clarkson quarterback camps that Brown attended as a middle schooler.

Gebbia has been the starter, he’s been the backup, and now he’s taking on the form of a pseudo-grad assistant in pads studying under Day, arguably the best de facto quarterbacks coach in the country.

Gebbia believes the most important attribute at the position is perseverance.

“We talked about kind of steadying the boat,” Gebbia said. “When things are going wrong, being able to be the guy that’s going to take hold of the ship and get it back on track to where it’s gotta go. You’re an extension of the coach on the field. So when things are going well, you gotta be able to deal with that. When things are going bad, you gotta be able to deal with that. And it’s come with a whole lot of challenges.

“Being able to do that is I think a skill that you develop over time. But these guys, for how young they are, I think they’re doing a great job so far.”

McCord has just one start under his belt, and that was against Akron. Brown hasn’t attempted a collegiate pass and has played in one spring game.

But Gebbia said you wouldn’t know any of that by how sharp McCord and Brown are.

And they’re not letting their lack of game experience affect their pursuit of leadership. With Stroud — the highest-drafted quarterback in program history — in the NFL, the window is open for a new quarterback voice.

“I think sometimes when there’s too many guys trying to say something, the message can kind of get muffled a little bit,” McCord said. “But now that he’s gone, and you kind of feel comfortable with getting up and talking in front of the guys.”

Brown added: “They just want somebody to vocalize themselves and keep pushing our team. Because that’s what we’re worried about, is winning games.”

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