Via 247Sports.com
Ohio State is known across the nation for always having a solid quarterback and that story was true last year as well. C.J. Stroud was a Heisman finalist and has a chance to go number one overall in the upcoming NFL Draft. Stroud was great for the Buckeyes and broke many records while there, but his time to go onto the next level has come. This causes one of the two backups, Kyle McCord or Devin Brown, to step up and lead this Buckeye team.
Kyle McCord is a 6’3 sophomore (will be a junior next season) out of Mount Laurel, New Jersey but attended St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now that school name might sound familiar, that’s because he was throwing touchdowns to now Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. while in high school. So, the connection between the Buckeyes WR1 and McCord is already there and very strong. Kyle McCord received his first Division One offer just before his freshman year of high school when Central Michigan offered him a roster spot. Coming back from an injury that ended his junior year, McCord threw for 1,582 yards and 21 touchdowns. In College, McCord has only attempted 58 passes but completed 41 of them, bringing his completion percentage to just above 70%. McCord has sat patiently behind CJ Stroud for two years after he won the job in 2021 and kept it in 2022. Safe to say, he might’ve learned a thing or two from Stroud in the two years he was mentored by him. McCord has great pocket presence, but is more of a pocket passer than past Buckeye quarterbacks like Justin Fields and Stroud. His amazing accuracy is what gets the most attention, but he has a great arm that can do a lot more than people think.
Moving on to Devin Brown, this is a less familiar name in Buckeye land, but he’s starting to gain more recognition by the day. Brown is from Draper, Utah and he attended Queen Creek in Arizona to start his high school career but then transferred to Corner Creek in Draper, Utah. Brown was the number one ranked quarterback in the state of Utah and was given a 97.00 rating, coming out as a five-star recruit. Devin Brown will just be a sophomore in this upcoming season, but he has sat behind Stroud just like McCord did, so it’s safe to say he learned some things as well. Brown doesn’t look very mobile, but one look at his highlight tape, and he looks like he could be playing running back at some schools. He has great footwork and is very agile on his feet. His throwing ability, wow, he has a cannon for an arm and can put it wherever you want it.
No matter who is named the next quarterback for Ohio State, they will be throwing to an elite wide receiver group, will have a new play caller in Brian Hartline, and could possibly get a pumped up Ryan Day like we saw in the playoff game against Georgia. That combo will be dangerous for opposing teams.
