Ohio State football: Ryan Day sheds light on quarterback competition

The quarterback battle is the biggest thing the Ohio State football team needs to get figured out. Ryan Day shed some light on that recently.

When Ryan Day met with the media on Monday, he was asked often about the quarterback competition between redshirt freshmen C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller, and true freshman Kyle McCord. One thing is clear, this position battle is a long way from being decided, and could extend into the regular season.

Day said none have separated themselves from the others and the competition is open. This isn’t surprising considering they’ve had just a handful of practices. The Buckeyes’ head coach wants his three young quarterbacks to understand they can’t win the job in one day or with one throw; they have to build a body of work over time.

For various reasons, Day said the evaluation process could extend beyond the season opener against Minnesota on September 2nd. Having more practices and more game situations for the coaches to consider in the appraisal process, along with the differences in individual learning curves of his three young players are all factors he cites as to why the depth chart could remain fluid beyond that first game. I think there is a very real possibility the guy who starts against the Golden Gophers won’t be the same guy who does so against TTUN in late November.

One thing Day knows is there will be growing pains regardless of which quarterback is playing, “They’re going to make mistakes, but how quickly can they learn from those mistakes?” Making the same mistake twice will be an issue, Day went on to say.

The third-year head coach is looking for all of the usuals from his quarterbacks. Timing, consistency, decision making, etc. are all factors, but in the end, it is leadership and taking care of the ball which is most important to Day, “The guys who turn the ball over aren’t going to last very long as quarterback at Ohio State.”

The Buckeyes are in a very unique situation for the program. Not since Woody Hayes switched Don Lamka from the defense for the 1971 season has Ohio State football had a starting quarterback who has never thrown a pass in a college football game. Stroud and Miller both saw small amounts of playing time last season, but neither threw a pass.

Lamka took over a team that had lost just two games in two seasons. He led those 1971 Buckeyes to a 6-1 record and top-ten ranking before the roof caved in and they lost their final three games. Stroud, Miller, or McCord will also be taking over a team that has lost just two games in two seasons. Day knows the pressure to perform will be there early, “These guys are gonna jump two feet into the pool and they just gotta go learn how to swim quickly.”

Ohio State football fans may want to sit down, strap in, and hang on because this could be a wild, but fun ride with these three youngsters leading the offense.