When the Ohio State Buckeyes brought in Kansas State Wildcats transfer quarterback Will Howard this offseason for his final season of eligibility, it was widely expected that he would be the team’s starting quarterback this upcoming season. But when the team began spring practice on Tuesday, he was not the quarterback running with the first team.
According to a report from Ohio State Buckeyes beat writers Dan Hope and Andy Anders of Eleven Warriors, quarterback Devin Brown took the first-team reps with the Ohio State offense ahead of Will Howard during the team’s first practice of the spring.
“Ohio State didn’t insert transfer quarterback Will Howard at the top of the depth chart right away on day one. Devin Brown led the quarterback line for Tuesday’s opening practice and took the initial first-team reps during 11-on-11 work,” Eleven Warriors reported on Tuesday.
Obviously, this is pretty surprising considering Howard is widely expected to be the starter this coming season. But it seems like Ohio State fully intends to allow Brown to compete for the starting role, as well. In fact, based on this move from Ohio State, it looks like Brown will begin as the first-team quarterback and Howard will have to beat him out.
All in all, it’s a pretty surprising update. We’ll have to see how it all plays out.