Ohio State football team crosses halfway point of spring with no leader in QB battle
Ohio State is more than halfway through spring practice, and neither Kyle McCord nor Devin Brown has taken the lead in the quarterback battle. Ohio State is more than halfway through spring football practice, with no leader in the quarterback battle yet. The team is being coached by Ryan Day and is without several key offensive players, including receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, who are recovering from undisclosed injuries. The spring game is April 15. Day said he still hopes a front-runner will emerge by the end of spring practice.
Published : one year ago by Bill Rabinowitz in Sports
Ohio State is more than halfway through spring football practice, and no leader in the quarterback battle has emerged, coach Ryan Day said Saturday.
OSU students were invited to watch the Buckeyes’ eighth of 15 practices this spring at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. They witnessed the defense get the better of it against the offense led by junior Kyle McCord and sophomore Devin Brown.
McCord and Brown are battling to succeed two-time Heisman Trophy finalist C.J. Stroud as Buckeyes quarterback.
“I'd like to see one of the two really step out,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I don't think we've seen that yet. It'd be nice to see one of them kind of separate from the other. But that takes a few practices in a row of consistent play.”
Each made some nice throws Saturday, but McCord threw an interception, and Brown had a ball swatted from him for a fumble.
Day pointed out that the Buckeyes are without several key offensive players, including receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, who are recovering from undisclosed injuries. The offensive line is still in flux, and quarterbacks are off-limits from contact.
Day said that can make it hard to judge their play, at least until video study.
“That’s why I have that iPad out there to try to see, ‘Can I get upset or not?’ because what you don’t want to do is throw into a crowd if there’s nobody open," he said. "But there are times when guys are open and they have to let it go, and if they’re holding onto it too long, that’s a mistake.”
McCord was Stroud’s backup last year. He threw 20 passes in mop-up duty. He did have one start as a true freshman against Akron. Brown did not attempt a pass last year.
“It’s a day-to-day process,” Day said. “They're growing. They're learning. Every time you're out there with the first team, it's different than when you're a backup. There are good days and there are not-so-good days. The whole thing is, can you learn from your failures? When you do well, it's great. But we're all going to fail
“When you look at the elite quarterbacks, whether it's in the NFL or in college, they learn from their mistakes quickly. They don't make the same mistake twice. These guys are making mistakes, just like any quarterback would. How quickly can they learn from those mistakes and grow? It's very hard to tell sometimes in a practice like this (when) it's a little chaotic.”
Day said he still hopes a front-runner will emerge by the end of spring practice. The spring game is April 15.
“It’s all about decision-making and moving the team down the field,” Day said. “I think there have been some good things, but a lot to grow from.”
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Topics: Football, College Sports, Ohio