Evaluating Ohio State at Quarterback
Where does Ohio State Go at Quarterback next season?
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00:10 14 to 3, the final score tonight at AT&T Stadium in the 88th playing of the Cotton
00:14 Bowl, the Missouri Tigers.
00:17 I wouldn't say upset or stunned the Ohio State Buckeyes,
00:19 that's probably not fair cuz Missouri is a really good team.
00:22 And they played well enough to win tonight unquestionably.
00:25 But the Buckeyes certainly did not live up anywhere close to the expectation
00:29 to their standard for sure in a night where they did not score a touchdown in
00:32 a bowl game.
00:33 The first time since the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.
00:37 And of course they were shut off by Clemson that night 31 to nothing.
00:40 Anthony, we're talking a value winning Ohio State quarterback play tonight.
00:44 And it feels like a really difficult topic to address
00:46 because of what actually transpired.
00:49 All the build up coming into this game.
00:51 Devin Brown finally gonna get his chance.
00:54 He's gonna show that he's got an opportunity to take this thing and run, right?
00:59 All the discussion around, hey, should we go to the portal?
01:03 I mean, think about the fan conversations and what this has looked like.
01:06 Devin had an opportunity to go make a statement and unfortunately got hurt.
01:12 That's happened to him several times this year and continues to be a problem.
01:15 And so you have an offensive line that didn't play well at all.
01:19 With a freshman quarterback who had very little reps this year and
01:22 things crumbled pretty quickly.
01:24 >> Yeah, your heart breaks for Devin Brown.
01:26 Just totally unfortunate.
01:27 It was just a freaky little ankle twist that we've all been there.
01:32 I've sprained my ankles a million times and he's obviously done it a bunch too.
01:37 You know once it happens that what you're able to do and what you can't do.
01:40 And it looked ugly when he started trying to run that thing off.
01:43 And your heart breaks for the kid because this was his opportunity.
01:46 And all week long and all bowl prep long, the last couple weeks,
01:50 he's been taking that leadership role and trying to get the team not on his side.
01:54 But just get the team rallied around him because this was his chance to become
01:59 the guy at Ohio State.
02:00 So your heart really does break for the kid.
02:02 But it's unfortunate, but that's football.
02:06 That's the sport.
02:07 It's a tough sport and guys go down with injury.
02:11 And for Lincoln Kienholz, and I think it's more of an indictment on,
02:14 not on him, but on the way that he just wasn't prepared.
02:18 We've seen it in the years past.
02:20 You think back to the easiest one is thinking back to Cardale Jones,
02:23 where he's a third string guy.
02:25 And it's not apples to apples, right?
02:27 It's truly not.
02:27 Lincoln Kienholz is a true freshman who, this was his eighth month on campus,
02:33 right, but still just looked totally unprepared.
02:36 And I don't know where the disconnect was and
02:39 why that there's some things being said that.
02:42 They were only planning on playing Devin Brown.
02:44 And I disagree with that wholeheartedly.
02:46 You gotta at least get two guys prepared.
02:49 It was just unfortunate on all fronts because Devin gets hurt and
02:53 then Lincoln looked unprepared and the result is three points in a brutal
02:56 looking offense.
02:58 >> Well, and even at that, I mean, Ryan Day was asked in his press conference post
03:01 game, just point blank, was Tristan Jebbia available tonight?
03:04 Ryan said yes.
03:06 And then the follow up was, okay, if he was available, what was the decision then
03:10 that went into putting Lincoln on the field instead of Tristan?
03:14 Neither of whom had played all year, but at least Tristan is,
03:17 he's the oldest kid on the roster.
03:18 I think he's got six years of college experience or whatever it is.
03:21 >> My age.
03:22 >> Yeah, I mean, he literally came here because he told the coaching staff, look,
03:26 I'm here to learn, I wanna be a coach.
03:29 So why not let a kid like that go in?
03:30 And I think that's a totally fair question.
03:33 And I thought Ryan Day gave a straight answer when he said, well,
03:36 the consideration for that was made.
03:37 But in terms of Tristan's skill set versus Lincoln's skill set and
03:42 the way the game plan was built, you can't put a game plan together and
03:47 then have a quarterback get hurt and have to switch your entire
03:52 offensive script.
03:53 It's not like you just throw out one game sheet and say, okay,
03:57 now we're gonna call all of these plays.
03:58 Like you essentially saw a quarterback most of the year in Kyle McCord
04:03 that was playing a little bit more pro style.
04:08 And then you've got a Devin Brown quarterback team that is not a pro
04:13 style offense built around the zone run, RPOs, his mobility, his athleticism.
04:19 Lincoln's game looks a lot more like Devin's game than Tristan's does.
04:24 And so that's why they decided to go with Lincoln Kienholz.
04:27 And I think Ryan essentially said, without using these words,
04:32 he almost said this is a wash.
04:34 I don't think he's gonna hold it against Lincoln that he didn't play very well.
04:37 He wasn't prepped to play this game.
04:39 There wasn't a plan for him to play.
04:42 I think that's maybe a little irresponsible.
04:44 He should be prepared to play.
04:46 But he wasn't.
04:47 And by the same token, Devin never really got a fair shake.
04:51 So for all those saying, forget it, we're screwed, we gotta go to the portal.
04:56 Pump the brakes on that a little bit because I don't think Devin Brown really
04:59 got the look that he deserved tonight either.
05:01 You've got a really good quarterback coming in in Aaron Noland.
05:04 And by the way, the guys, if there was somebody in the portal,
05:07 the Buckeyes just absolutely loved, and it was the right fit,
05:11 they would have already gotten him.
05:13 Ryan Day's not gonna have a problem going into the portal and
05:15 convincing a quarterback to come play here.
05:17 So look at it objectively.
05:19 If there's a quarterback that hasn't come here,
05:22 it's because the Buckeyes didn't want him here for whatever reason.
05:25 Will Howard, I don't know, some people were watching Will Howard highlights on
05:29 YouTube during the second half of the game tonight cuz they felt like that was
05:32 a better use of their time.
05:33 >> [LAUGH] >> Whatever the case is,
05:36 I get the impression personally that the Buckeyes are probably more likely to play
05:41 a quarterback week one next year that's currently on the roster.
05:44 That's my guess.
05:45 I guess we'll find out.
05:47 I wouldn't get too bent out of shape.
05:49 But without question, that part of this whole equation has got to get a lot better.
05:56 >> It stinks on two fronts.
05:58 First on the Devin Brown front, this was his chance.
06:01 I know I said it earlier, but this was his chance to just get something out there.
06:05 Play a full football game, whether it's good or bad is one thing.
06:08 But just put some tape out there and get a full game, leading this team and
06:12 trying to figure it out, putting drives together,
06:14 having good situational football.
06:15 He didn't get that opportunity to do so.
06:17 So that's a wash and that stinks too because now his next evaluations coming in
06:22 fall camp and well in spring and fall camp, which that's tough because that's all
06:27 simulated environments.
06:29 And then on Lincoln's side, he even said it.
06:32 He was asked in the press conference, what's your experience?
06:35 It was fun to watch him because he's so green and
06:37 like it was his first press conference.
06:39 It was just funny like, yes, exactly.
06:43 Jack Sawyer's, his questions were answered very smoothly, very whatever.
06:47 And Lincoln was just kind of struggling, but he's just so green, he's a young kid.
06:50 But it's frustrating because he even said like this is now my foundation.
06:54 And the part that I'm upset about is that he just looked like
07:00 there was no plan for him.
07:02 And I think in my opinion, that falls back on the coaches.
07:05 Like, how do you throw this young man out there his first time?
07:08 And now he's believing like this is my foundation.
07:10 He's gonna watch the tape and look at it and
07:12 believe that what he sees on that film is him.
07:15 And I disagree with it.
07:17 He can throw the ball, he can stand in there, he can do these things.
07:20 But what he showed, what's on tape for him is not a good game.
07:23 So I think on both fronts, it just was unfortunate and
07:27 not what you're looking for coming out of this game.
07:29 >> Lincoln went six of 17 for 86 yards, no touchdowns, no picks.
07:34 Devin Brown, four of six for 20 yards.
07:37 Again, no touchdowns, no interceptions.
07:39 Only other passing attempt from an Ohio State player tonight came on that trick
07:42 play from Emeka Igbuka that ultimately was an incompletion.
07:46 So 10 of 24 for 106 yards through the air tonight for
07:49 Ohio State as a team, just flat out not good enough tonight.
07:53 Again, I don't think we should sound the alarm bells here.
07:58 I know a lot of people want to.
08:00 I think it's very reactionary to do that.
08:03 It's pretty clear that the Buckeyes need to address better quarterback play going
08:08 into next year because of the way this season has fallen apart.
08:12 Because whether you liked Kyle McCord or not,
08:15 the guy who played quarterback for you all year is, again, not on your roster.
08:18 So it's the second straight season, you're gonna have a competition going into camp.
08:22 You gotta figure out what to do.
08:23 And again, I'll reiterate, my personal opinion is that next year's quarterback,
08:29 I think, will be on the roster, whether it's Aaron Noland or Lincoln or Devon.
08:33 I don't think that they're gonna go some direction in the portal,
08:37 just my personal opinion.
08:38 But I guess we're gonna find out here soon.
08:41 14-3, the final score, not a great night for the Bucs.
08:44 They close the season 11 and 2 with a loss in the Cotton Bowl.
08:47 For more, you can head over to BuckeyesNow.com.
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