What’s next for Ohio State football’s Devin Brown, after losing second quarterback battle? (2024)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There is an alternate reality that exists where Devin Brown is being named Ohio State football’s starting quarterback today, or ever earlier because nobody had any reason to believe otherwise.

It’s a reality that new Big Ten foe USC is playing out in real-time. Nine months ago Brown and Miller Moss were in the same position. Both had spent the year sitting behind former five-star recruits who were NFL Draft-eligible as they waited their turn in line.

Both watched as seasons played out in disappointment — to varying levels, obviously — resulting in those five-star quarterbacks choosing to move on instead of playing in non-College Football Playoff bowl games. Though again, “moving on” has a very different meaning for one side than the other. Caleb Williams moved on to the NFL as the No. 1 pick. Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse.

The point is, both Brown and Moss found themselves in a spot where they could cement the future of their programs by flashing their potential and helping their teams end seasons on a high note. It became a reward for two guys who’d waited their turn in a world where most don’t want to.

“I think it’s a tremendous honor to play quarterback for Coach Riley,” Moss said at Big Ten Media Days. “I had certain goals when I signed at USC and I wanted to see those through until I couldn’t anymore. ... Also the guy I was sitting behind was pretty good as well. That gave me a little solace in doing so.”

Moss got his chance against Louisville in the Holiday Bowl. Brown got his chance against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. The former used his chance to throw 372 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-28 win. The latter played 17 snaps before injuring his ankle, ending his season.

One killed any questions about their program’s quarterback future before they could even be formed. Unfortunate circ*mstances kept the other from doing so. Yet still, here he is fighting for another shot, scoffing at the idea that he’d ever think about transferring.

Brown has always been adamant about the fact that he’s determined to one day be Ohio State’s starting quarterback, no matter how long it takes. That sentiment will once again be tested in 2024.

In 2022, it wasn’t a realistic conversation. He was a true freshman, third in the hierarchy behind a returning Heisman Trophy finalist and a former five-star recruit in his second year with a start under his belt. That year was about learning.

In 2023, he got his first crack at it, battling McCord. He flashed so much that he forced the battle to continue on into the first few weeks of the season before McCord eventually won it. But even then he still had a role with a red zone package being born as a way to tap into a skill set the guy in front of him didn’t have. But he couldn’t stay healthy, so that package died before it could ever take off.

In 2024, he’s had to battle in a five-man room featuring a five-year vet hoping to raise his profile, a five-star freshman already turning heads and two other highly rated guys developing in the background. It’s not quite the clearest of paths to the field.

We don’t live in that reality where Brown tears it up in the Cotton Bowl, helping Ryan Day realize that he doesn’t need to use the transfer portal. We don’t even live in the reality where he could’ve been coming into his second year as a starter after beating out McCord last August, which was a real possibility at the time.

“This time last year I thought Devin was gonna be the starter,” Day said. “Then Kyle came along in the end.”

We live in the reality where Day brought in Will Howard and now he’s won the job two weeks before the season opener.

Once again, Brown’s resolve will be tested. As will his place on the totem pole. For now, he seems willing to continue the race, still confident that the reward awaits him at the finish line.

“Devin has shown the ability to do everything we’ve asked him to do,” Day said. “It’s the consistency part and taking care of the football part that he’s just got to make sure that he does a great job of moving forward. If he can do that, then he can play and be a contributor for us.”

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