Ryan Day shares challenges of using tempo with new quarterback

It was a less-than-stellar showing for Kyle McCord and Devin Brown in Ohio State’s opener against Indiana as the pair are vying to be the full-time starter. And while head coach Ryan Day would like to use some up-tempo series to help them find a rhythm, he knows it can be a double-edged sword.

As much as getting to the line quickly and setting up the quarterback with layup passes is attractive, there’s a risk. While tempo can help the offense press the advantage against a scattered defense, it can also result in running plays into bad looks.

“But also, when you’re dealing with a clock that is moving fast and the other team is trying to run the ball, the issue with tempo is sometimes you can run plays into bad looks because you’re going fast. You don’t have the ability to make an adjustment because the defense maybe isn’t lined up. And so there’s a fine line there of making sure that you’re staying in rhythm of the game but you’re also running good plays. So we try to find that balance and keep defenses on their heels. But at the same time, we also to make sure that schematically we’re doing the right thing and we’re putting guys in the right situation to be successful,” Day said.

Ohio State didn’t get into much hurry up against Indiana in the opener, a 23-3 win where the Buckeyes didn’t record a touchdown pass — a fairly rare occurrence.

As McCord and Brown start to get a bit more comfortable and experienced, Day and Co. will probably start to feature some more up-tempo looks to let the quarterbacks rev up the offense and hopefully find a cleaner rhythm.

“So we’ll always have tempo as part of our game and when we can utilize as a weapon we will. And some guys do better or worse with tempo. So those are all the things you’re trying to evaluate when you have first time starters,” Day said.

It might just be a matter of time before one of the Ohio State QBs flips a switch

It was an up-and-down season debut for both McCord and Brown as Ohio State hopes to put the finishing touches on an offseason-long quarterback competition. But Day said it might just take a little more time before he makes a final call.

After just one game, where Brown played just a series, and Ohio State won, 23-3, in at times underwhelming fashion, Day knows there’s more that both his quarterbacks need to see. Building up a rolodex of reps might just be what McCord and/or Brown need.

“And I think both guys are, you know, feel like they can run the offense. I think both guys want to play so I think the confidence of that is great. They just really haven’t done a lot of it. So I think that’s just the missing piece,” Day said.

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