Ryan Day reveals his plan on the quarterback position behind CJ Stroud

The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off fall camp on Thursday with a press conference from head coach Ryan Day. Reporters asked the skipper to detail his plan to develop the quarterbacks behind returning starter CJ Stroud. The squad returns Stroud’s backup Kyle McCord and welcomes a new face in 2022 signee Devin Brown.

“I think the first thing is you got to get CJ game-ready, that’s the first priority,” Day said on day one of fall camp. “And then you try to get the other guys as many reps as possible. Kyle had a really good offseason, so that was great, and Devin’s worked really hard as well. He’s only been here since January.

“So yeah, you have to develop these guys. This is a huge three weeks to bring those guys along. They’ll get reps with the ones and the twos, we’ll mix those up. That’s part of the process. How many guys can we get game-ready? That’s the goal.”

Last season, McCord saw action in five games, with his most pass attempts coming versus Akron. He went 13-for-18 for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the blowout win.

Brown signed with the Buckeyes as a five-star prospect. He was the No. 31 player overall in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus, and the No. 5 quarterback prospect.

Day addresses how Stroud has grown as a leader

Stroud shined in his role under center in year one. He is taking those same leadership skills learned on the gridiron and applying them off the field going into 2022.

“CJ has always had very good leadership skills. He’s always had a voice,” Day said of his star quarterback. “Once you go on the field and you show credibility that you can do it, you walk a little differently, and guys look at you through a different lens. I think that’s been the case.

“I think, when you’re young and you go into a season and you haven’t played, you’re just trying to figure out a way to complete that first pass, get that first win, and you’re so focused on your job and maybe the offense.”

Now that Stroud has proved his worth on the field and then some, it’s only inevitable for Stroud to become the source of his defense’s headaches every day in practice. For that, Day says, is what separates Stroud from the rest.

“This off-season he’s done a great job of taking a bunch of guys on defense over to his house. He’s cooked for them,” Day said. “He’s really approached it like a coach, and that’s what leaders do, and that’s what really good quarterbacks do. For a third-year player to take that kind of approach has been great to see.”

On3’s Barkley Truax contributed to this report.