Last month, Devin Brown announced his intentions to transfer from the Ohio State program.
The backup quarterback, however, opted to remain with the Buckeyes throughout their run in the College Football Playoff.
Now that Ohio State’s season is over, with the Buckeyes beating Notre Dame to win college football’s first-ever 12-team playoff, Brown has decided where he’ll be spending the rest of his college career. According to ESPN’s Max Olson, the Draper, Utah, native is transferring to Cal, where he’ll have two years of eligibility remaining.
Ohio State transfer QB Devin Brown has signed with Cal, sources told ESPN.
Big get for the Bears. The former top-100 recruit has patiently waited for a chance to become a starter. Brown will have 2 more seasons of eligibility. pic.twitter.com/GRZ3jpdwRl
— Max Olson (@max_olson) January 21, 2025
Originally ranked as a four-star prospect in the 2022 class, Brown first joined Ohio State ahead of C.J. Stroud’s final season with the Buckeyes. After Stroud departed for the NFL, the Utah native competed with Kyle McCord for Ohio State’s starting quarterback job ahead of the 2023 season, during which he ultimately served as the Buckeyes’ No. 2 signal-caller.
Following the arrival of Will Howard via the transfer portal, Brown once again served as Ohio State’s backup during its championship-winning 2024 season. While Howard is heading to the NFL Draft with his eligibility having expired, the arrival of former 5-star prospect Julian Sayin and incoming freshman Tavien St. Clair meant that Brown would once again be risking being a backup had he opted to remain in Columbus in 2025.
“I just sat down with my family and sat down with the coaches and figured out what was best,” Brown told on3 of his decision to transfer. “You know, we came to that decision for me to, you know, figure out somewhere else.”
Brown added: “I’ve been here for three years now and I love this place, I love this team. So it’s definitely hard to leave them.”
Instead, he’ll head to Cal, where he’ll presumably compete to win the Bears’ starting quarterback job in 2025. According to 247Sports, Brown ranked as the No. 33 overall quarterback and 386th overall player in the transfer portal this offseason.