Next up, a Ohio State quarterback: Part 3: the conclusion
Here we are, the last part of a trilogy that looks at which candidate. Kyle McCord Or Devin Brown, has the edge in the race for the title of “The Race to Be” Ohio State’s quarterback in 2023.
I will reiterate that I don’t believe this contest will be called early there is potential that with the fair easy early schedule (Indiana, Youngstown State and Western Kentucky) that this battle could go into the season. If it does, Ryan Day You must make a decision before you travel to South Bend.
Part one was going over McCord The second installment was looking at Brown. We will now combine all the information and handicap the race. Here are my final opinions on each and a prediction of the outcome of fall camp and spring practices for Ohio State’s quarterback position in 2023.
Kyle McCord
Although both quarterbacks lack the experience, McCord does have some advantages in that area. His physical skills are excellent, and he is strong enough to make all of the throws in this offense. McCord has better accuracy of the two, while he isn’t much of a runner. Day didn’t really allow the Pennsylvania native to stretch the field this past year, as he played mostly in mop-up duty. Lots of short throws don’t really tell us much of what to expect going forward from McCord, so there is a bit of unknown.
Devin Brown
Although Brown may be slightly behind McCord in this area, the youngster has impressive arm strength. It’s really difficult to assess what Brown is at the moment, when we last saw him taking meaningful snaps it was almost two years ago. We all know he’s the better runner, so he has the advantage there. Accuracy is not quite as good as Kyle’s, but again it’s hard to know if Brown has improved there. He needed the game to slow down for him, as sometimes he rushes his throws without proper footwork or he’s late due to processing. When his feet are squared and he’s not tangled up, Brown can spin it with the best of them though.
Conclusion
It’s pretty easy to see who should be starting with the first team offense in practices before the LiFEsports Spring GameKyle McCord. What happens in the game really won’t tell us much, do any spring games? As I said before, this won’t end in April but we should expect to know who has the advantge heading in the fall. That should be McCord as well and if it’s not, it would be a very interesting development.
It’s hard to think it won’t be McCord as the starter this coming season also, but there should be a package from Brown to play as well. Brown should have a red zone, or goal line set of plays. It would serve two purposes: it would allow Brown to gain real experience and, secondly, it will encourage teams to think about what the Buckeyes might do if he plays.
C.J. Stroud’s first year as a starter, with no previous collegiate experience, he threw for 4,435 yards, 44 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. McCord could put up similar numbers. McCord could. But the bigger question is: will he? I still expect the offense to put up big scoring numbers but with the deep stable of running backs and a first time starting quarterback (not counting McCord’s start in 2021), a similar aerial attack as we’ve seen the last two years, probably isn’t in the cards.
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