Junior quarterback Kyle McCord takes the field prior to the Ohio State spring game April 15. Credit: Katie Good | Lantern Photo File

After months of uncertainty surrounding who Ohio State’s starting quarterback will be for the 2023-24 season, the questions continue to loom. 

Head coach Ryan Day said the battle between junior Kyle McCord and sophomore Devin Brown will carry into next week in a press conference Monday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. 

“There’s been times over this camp where I felt like one was going to take over, and the other one came back,” Day said. “It was like a horse race, and it kept pulling, pulling away, and then the other one would catch up.”

For months, a back-and-forth contest has ensued between McCord and Brown. Day said both players have improved pocket presence and timing passes, but the gap isn’t large. 

Day said the coaching staff agrees. After the second scrimmage Saturday, Day said he took a straw poll, and the results were almost evenly split. He said he met with both quarterbacks, and they concurred that neither one is that much further ahead. 

If the gap remains narrow, Day said there’s a high chance McCord and Brown will both play in the opening game against Indiana Sept. 2. 

“I’ve been in situations — not very many — where you don’t have a quarterback, and that’s not a good feeling,” Day said. “We’re going to have a quarterback, and we may have two, and if they deserve to play, they’re going to play.”

Day said they’ve had more reps than anybody else in camp, and the staff is confident in both quarterbacks heading into the season. Even with the more experienced McCord, Day said he’s not surprised by the tight competition. 

“You want the guy that’s the leader, the guy that’s leading men into the end zone,” Day said. “On third-and-long, or you’re backed up, or after a bad play, or you’re down by a score, [they] can rally the team or can find a way to go dive in the end zone on fourth down.”

Day said both will be good players, no matter the outcome, but in the end, the better leader, decision-maker and competitor will secure the position. 

“Ultimately, we have to do what’s best for Ohio State,” Day said.