Ohio State football: Can Devin Brown steal the QB job?

When the Ohio State football team brought in Will Howard from the transfer portal, it was assumed he would be the starter in 2024. Why would you bring him in otherwise? This is his last year of eligibility. He would have either stayed at Kansas State or headed to the NFL if he wasn’t going to start in Columbus.

Yet, he didn’t get the first-team reps in the first few Spring practices. Devin Brown did instead. Howard was working mostly with the second team. While this was just the first couple of practices, that does raise some questions. Can Brown steal the starting quarterback job away from Will Howard?

Why Will Howard will likely still start for the Ohio State football team

While Brown has made it clear he’s going to compete hard for the starting job, it’s unlikely he wins it. He had a shot in the Cotton Bowl to take it and he got hurt instead. Brown didn’t look very good in that first quarter before he got hurt either. Howard adds more running ability than Brown has also, which helps in a Chip Kelly offense.

Howard also has multiple years of starting experience. Brown doesn’t have any. In a year where Ryan Day’s back is against the wall, he’s going to lean on the guy who has won big games before. He’s not going to trust his job to a guy who has never started and finished a complete college game. That would be insane from his perspective.

I do fully expect Brown to push Howard hard in Spring practice though. He’s going to try as hard as he can to make Day make a hard decision to start him. I’m just not quite sure he’s talented enough to do so, even though I absolutely love his mentality. More players on the team need to have his mindset.