Freshman quarterback Devin Brown will be joining the Buckeyes for the 2022 spring semester among 12 other new players. Credit: Jacob Benge | Asst. Sports Editor
With several quarterbacks from the 2021 Ohio State football team entering the transfer portal, freshman Devin Brown is looking to take on the role of a young, successful Buckeye quarterback.
Brown is the only new quarterback joining Ohio State in the spring semester of 2022 among 12 total new players. He said he is eager to start learning more about the game from coaches who have developed other great quarterbacks, such as head coach Ryan Day and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis.
“Look at all the guys we have in the NFL. Joe Burrow obviously went on to LSU. But he was here, and he developed. He’s even said he wouldn’t be where he’s at without coming here,” Brown said. “I think coach Day really knows what he’s doing with every single little thing.”
Brown grew up in Draper, Utah, and has faced numerous challenges over the years — especially when it came to his size. As a freshman in high school, he was only 5-foot-8 and weighed about 115 pounds.
“It’s funny, like talking to my quarterback coach, Rudy Carpenter, like to this day even he says he was my biggest doubter. I was hoping I could start on the high school football team, and nobody would have ever expected me to be where I’m at right now,” Brown said. “I think going into my junior year was when I really realized like, ‘OK, I can go, I could do this.’ ”
Brown said he has learned to be patient and to wait for his time to see the field. Coming to Ohio State with sophomores C.J. Stroud already the starter and Kyle McCord waiting in the wings, Brown said he knows his time will come, but he must put in the work.
“Obviously you want to be playing, but you just got to know coaches have a plan for you and they know what’s best for the team. You want what’s best for the team, too,” Brown said. “ It’s not a big deal. You’re not playing right away. You’re going to get your time.”
Brown said he has connected with the new and existing Ohio State wide receivers in hopes of forming good chemistry when throwing to them. He said he wants to improve after the big jump from high school to college ball.
Fellow early enrollee and freshman wide receiver Kyion Grayes said he’s enjoyed his time with Brown since arriving in Columbus.
“Devin’s a great quarterback; he throws some great balls. Me and him have been catching almost every other day,” Brown said. “Devin is a great person; I mean, he’s fun to be around. What more could you ask for?”
Former Ohio State quarterback Joe Germaine coached Brown at Corner Canyon High School. Germaine had grown up with Brown’s father and played for the Buckeyes from 1996-98. When Brown got an offer from Ohio State, it was as if everything came full circle for him.
“When I was in Arizona, he was always talking about Ohio State. But at the time, nobody was talking to me from here or anything, so he really wasn’t saying much until they truly offered me and kind of got down to the wire,” Brown said. “Now that I actually am here, he’s so happy.”
Although spring practices have not yet started, Brown said he will take every opportunity that he gets during workouts with the team.
“You got to show it out here. We’re conditioning every morning before we work out and everything you got to show you’re getting after it,” Brown said. “You got to show you’re really putting in the work.”
