Ohio State Football: Breaking down the depth chart, quarterbacks
The Ohio State football team is looking forward to the 2020 season. In a new weekly installment, we will breakdown the depth chart position by position to see where the Buckeyes stack-up.
The Ohio State football team quarterbacks room is in the middle of a makeover. New quarterbacks coach, Corey Dennis, has his hands full as he runs his first unit as a coach. Let’s take a more in-depth view of what the Buckeyes have at the quarterback position.
Starter: Justin Fields
Justin Fields is coming off one of the best statistical seasons ever by an Ohio State quarterback. With 3,273 yards passing and 41 touchdowns passes compared to only three interceptions, Fields is poised for more of the same in 2020.
Head coach Ryan Day did an excellent job last season in taking a second year raw player and coaching him up into a Heisman trophy finalist. If Fields continues on this path and is able to grow even more during this offseason, he should head into 2020 with tons of confidence and an excellent understanding of what is expected of him for the upcoming season.
Second String: Gunnar Hoak
Senior transfer quarterback Gunnar Hoak is going to be looking to take over Chris Chugunov’s position from this past season. Experience and a second season in this Buckeye offense gives Hoak an advantage over the two freshman that are coming in.
Hoak finished the season only throwing six passes, completing all of them for 104 yards and a score. As was the case a year ago with Chugunov, strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti is working hard with Hoak and he is being coached up by Day and Dennis to be an effective backup quarterback.
Waiting in the wings: Jack Miller, CJ Stroud
It is pretty rare that a school is able to land two highly touted prospects such as Miller and Stroud but Ryan Day was able to pull it off. Needing numbers and talent following the transfers of Matthew Baldwin and Tate Martell, Ryan Day put the full court press on to land these two recruits.
Both of these four-star prospects have the ability to be a game changer for Ohio State come 2021 as Justin Fields will more than likely head to the NFL. So with that being said, this is a huge year in order for them to develop and to get them ready for a fierce battle in the 2021 offseason for the starting job. And with both of them entering this season as early enrollee’s the development starts now.
Even though it is expected that Gunnar Hoak will be listed as the second team QB, look to see both of these players get reps in blowout victories to get them game experience.
Down the pipeline: Kyle McCord
Kyle McCord from St. Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia is one of Ohio State’s biggest quarterback commits in school history. The No. 33 overall prospect in the 2021 class ranked by 247Sports, McCord will have a legitimate chance to enter the QB competition with Miller and Stroud as a true freshman.
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Throwing to another Ohio State recruit in Marvin Harrison Jr, McCord has been committed to the Buckeyes since April of 2019 and is Ryan Day’s hand-picked quarterback from this class. The MVP of the Elite 11 camp in New Jersey last year, McCord has a chance to be an all-time great type player for Ohio State.