Greg McElroy assesses Ohio State’s QB battle between Devin Brown and Kyle McCord

Greg McElroy admits that he can’t think of a time in recent memory during the Urban Meyer and Ryan Day eras where he was concerned about the quarterback position at Ohio State.

Now the Buckeyes are trying to figure out who will replace Bryce Young in the competition between Devin Brown and Kyle McCord.

McElroy pointed out that the Ohio State quarterback has finished in the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting for 5 consecutive years, and 8 of the last 11. But he added that Stroud might be the most difficult to replace.

“When you look at the way this offense makes it easy on the quarterback, and the supporting cast that he’s going to have at wide receiver, it’s going to be ridiculous,” McElroy said. “It’s just not a position with this offense that I’m concerned about.”

McElroy believes McCord has a bit of an edge because he has some on-field experience, though it’s limited. Keep in mind, McElroy said, that the offensive line is a bit younger, and there’s an elite group of wide receivers on the outside.

“I think he’s in a really good position, McCord is, to at least lock down the position, just because he has so much experience relative to the guy he’s going up against,” McElroy said. “While you look at Devin Brown, comes in as a blue-chip recruit, a guy that everybody wanted, a guy that according to some publications, the No. 1 overall prospect in the entire country in the entire 2022 class. … Based on his pedigree coming through the recruiting process, the sky’s the limit.”

McElroy believes it will ultimately be McCord who wins the job, and he would be surprised if any decision is made in the next 3-4 months.

Keith Farner

Keith Farner has written about college football for newspapers and web sites since 2005.