Devin Brown sounds like a player who has been waiting for his moment, no matter when it comes.

A former 4-star quarterback who arrived at Ohio State in the 2022 recruiting class, Brown has been waiting his turn with the Buckeyes. He sat his true freshman season behind CJ Stroud and Kyle McCord, and Brown wound up serving as the backup QB to McCord this season.

Brown did push McCord throughout the QB battle and began seeing more playing time throughout the season. Unfortunately, an injury in the Penn State game set him back quite a bit.

Now, with McCord leaving for Syracuse, the starting job in the Cotton Bowl is Brown’s. And while his first career start comes in a top-10 matchup and New Year’s Six Bowl, Brown downplayed any pressure for the situation on Wednesday.

“Obviously There is going to be a little bit of pressure with this game, but even my family was asking me ‘Are you nervous for this game?’ I’ve been playing this game since I was seven years old,” Brown pointed out. “It’s the same game just in a bigger stadium.”

That type of swagger and confidence has been spotted by Brown’s teammates in bowl practices. Head coach Ryan Day and Xavier Johnson especially praised Brown for his leadership, maturity and charisma after taking over in McCord’s absence.

While Brown did not get a chance to make much of an impact this season, it sounds like he’s building to something special come Friday night. Stay tuned as the Buckeyes prepare to face Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl.