When Ryan Day met with the media on Thursday he gave no major updates on the status of any position battles, but one thing he did say is that Will Howard and Devin Brown have been able to separate themselves from the rest of the pack in fall camp.
“You’re starting to see Will and Devin get the lion’s share of the reps,” Day said after the Buckeyes practice that was open to the media. “I will say (Howard) has taken command of the huddle at the line of scrimmage. He’s much more confident out there. No decisions have been made. We’ll scrimmage a little bit on Saturday. By then we’ll take an evaluation, see where we’re at.”
Howard, who Day added has “taken some strides in the last couple of practices,” took most of the reps with the starters when they were on the field together at Thursday’s practice.
“He’s taken control of the offense, making plays on third down,” Day added. “He hasn’t won the job, but we have seen some positive play there.”
Day said that Howard getting to this point has taken a lot of work over the offseason by losing some weight, working on his throwing mechanics, and learning the Buckeyes offense inside and out, and he has done well with that.
Howard said on Tuesday that he felt a little overwhelmed when he first started with Ohio State in the spring, but he has been able to settle in and he’s felt much more comfortable in the fall.
“I feel like in the spring I was at the beginning drinking from a fire hose, especially with the way the offense was installed,” Howard said. “But I think that was good for me… Now I’m starting to get my stride, and now coming into fall camp it’s been completely different. You can’t replicate actually doing it. The only way to do it is to do it and go out there and get reps.”
And Brown, who has been adamant that he is sticking with the Buckeyes has not backed down from the competition and he’s treating it the same way as he did when he was in a battle with former Buckeye Kyle McCord, although he feels more comfortable this time around since he knows what to expect.
“It’s just different going into my third year, not having to really stress about anything. I’m just going out there and playing football again,” Brown said. “It’s really no different than last year in terms of how it all works and how it’s playing out, but really just no stress. I’m just going out there and playing football.”.
