Ohio State Football: Who will backup C.J. Stroud?

C.J. Stroud is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He will enter 2022 as one of the Heisman favorites. The Ohio State football team doesn’t need to worry about the starter this season. But they do need to worry about who the backup will be.

The job will come down to two guys. Kyle McCord is the incumbent backup and is a former five-star recruit. Initially, I thought he should have been the starter last season. I was proven 100% wrong on that front, but he still has a really strong arm and impressive skills.

The other guy who is fighting for that spot is true freshman Devin Brown. Brown is a five-star recruit in the 2022 class and is rated as the best quarterback in the class by some recruiting services. He is also extremely talented and could be really good.

McCord and Brown are very similar players. Both have strong arms and need to work on decision-making. We saw some of that bite McCord in the butt when he got his shot at playing time in 2021. A full offseason should help with that, especially knowing he won’t be the starter. He won’t be pressing as much.

Brown has some of the same issues that pop up on film as McCord. But you don’t become a five-star recruit by accident. This guy can still make all of the throws and has periods of time where he is extremely accurate. He’s going to be a really good player someday.

I believe the job will go to McCord because he has experience in Ohio State’s offense already. I also believe that him winning the backup job this year gives him the inside track on starting for the Ohio State football program in 2023 once Stroud leaves for the NFL.

This may not be the most pressing depth chart fight that the Buckeyes will have going on this season, but it’s something to watch nonetheless. This could give us clues as to who Ryan Day thinks might start in 2023.