Scarlet Sunrise: Ryan Day talks QB evaluation after first Buckeyes spring scrimmage

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After first spring scrimmage, Ryan Day says evaluating QBs is ‘hard to tell until you stack these days’

Ohio State held its first scrimmage of spring ball over the weekend, but fifth-year head coach Ryan Day isn’t jumping to conclusions about the quarterback battle between junior Kyle McCord and redshirt freshman Devin Brown.

“If you just looked at one drive, you could come to a conclusion real easy,” Day said after the scrimmage in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I think that’s why when we talk about these in the meeting room there and we talk about where the quarterbacks are at, it’s hard to tell until you stack these days.”

The Buckeyes still have 10 more spring practices remaining, the last of which doubles as the Spring Game in Ohio Stadium on April 15. Back in February, Day suggested that he’d like to have his starting quarterback figured out after spring ball.

That process is ongoing. McCord, who backed up C.J. Stroud the last two years and even started a game against Akron in 2021, has the experience edge over Brown. That said, both signal callers struggled at the start of Saturday’s scrimmage. They improved as the day wore on — McCord more than Brown, as the former St. Joe’s Prep (Philadelphia) star finished the practice with some palpable swagger.

“We’ll grade every single snap today,” Day said. “We’ll see how everybody graded out. But, at the end of the day, we have to move the offense into the end zone. That’s our job as a quarterback. However we do that, everybody has a different style. But that leadership means a lot.”

Day continued: “Now, one practice is one practice. Can you learn and grow from it? I learned, just the other day, the quote that, ‘The brain doesn’t grow from success. It grows from failure.’ There was a lot of failure on this field today. So who can grow from that and build, and we’ll see. But I thought there’s a lot of film to look at. The guys moved them down the field, especially during the second half of the scrimmage. But a lot of football left here this spring.”

Kyle McCord surges late to cap off impressive spring scrimmage

McCord turned it on late Saturday. He had a difficult go of it during the red zone pass period and, at times, during the team third down period. But a deep ball to speedy wide receiver Jayden Ballard, who created separation from cornerback Jordan Hancock with a double-move, excited his teammates and seemed to flip a switch for McCord.

He looked much more comfortable the second half of the day, commanding the offense through the latter portion of the scrimmage and ultimately guiding his unit to a practice-ending touchdown.

For more on McCord’s performance, go here.

What I’m Hearing: Ohio State completes a successful major recruiting weekend

With the first scrimmage of the spring, came the first major Ohio State recruiting weekend of 2023. The 2024 cycle took center stage in the Woody.

The Buckeyes had more than two dozen prospects and families on campus, in addition to notable alumni, for their fifth practice of spring ball. Naturally, several offers were extended Saturday and a few commitments appear to be on the way, according to Lettermen Row recruiting analyst Matt Parker.

Matt has a rundown of who was there and how the visits went for Ohio State’s recruiting targets.

You can check it out here.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 159 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 243 days

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The post Scarlet Sunrise: Ryan Day talks QB evaluation after first Buckeyes spring scrimmage appeared first on On3.