Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced Tuesday that junior Kyle McCord has been named the team’s starting quarterback for the season opener at Indiana on Sept. 2.
Since C.J. Stroud’s departure following last season, McCord had been battling with redshirt freshman Devin Brown to take over at quarterback. The battle began in earnest in the spring and stretched through fall camp, with Day often calling the competition too close to call between the signal callers.
While McCord has been named the starter against the Hoosiers following a strong couple weeks of practice, Day said that both McCord and Brown will see the field against Indiana to begin the season.
“Kyle has done a great job over the last two weeks of showing consistency,” Day said. “Devin, throughout the body of the preseason, has shown he deserves to play. We have confidence in both of them.”
McCord arrived at Ohio State in the 2021 recruiting class as a four-star prospect out of Philadelphia, but he was thrust into starting action just four games into the season when Stroud was ruled out against Akron with a shoulder injury. He led the Buckeyes to a 59-7 win in that contest, completing 72.2 percent of his passes for 319 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
He has seen limited action since that outing, however, appearing in just four more games that season and playing in seven games last year, attempting only 20 passes with 190 passing yards. Brown, meanwhile, appeared in just two games last season and did not throw a pass.
Should McCord remain the starter for the entire season, he’ll look to continue a strong run of quarterback play at Ohio State. Dating back to Dwayne Haskins in 2018, the starting quarterback (in a full season) has thrown for no fewer than 3,272 yards and 41 touchdowns, with Haskins – as well as Justin Fields and Stroud – eventually becoming first-round selections in the NFL Draft.
With the exception of 2020, an Ohio State quarterback has been a finalist for the Heisman Trophy every year since 2018, and while a high bar to clear, it’s a path McCord will be tasked with attempting to follow.
