Devin Brown, who has been Ohio State’s backup quarterback for the past two seasons, plans to enter the transfer portal when it opens for the winter window on Monday.
Announcing his plans on social media on Sunday, Brown said he will remain with the Buckeyes through the College Football Playoff. They host Tennessee in the first round on Dec. 21 with the winner to meet top-seeded Oregon in the quarterfinals.
“I entered this season with the intent of doing everything I could to win a National Championship with my brothers,” Brown wrote in a post, “and that goal is still very much alive.”
Brown spent three seasons at Ohio State after enrolling at the school in 2022, making him the longest-tenured quarterback on the roster.
But the redshirt sophomore lost two starting quarterback competitions, including last year to Kyle McCord and this year to Will Howard, who transferred with extensive experience from Kansas State for his final year of eligibility.
If Brown had decided to remain with the Buckeyes for at least another year, he would need to fend off Julian Sayin, a freshman who was the top-ranked quarterback in the nation in the last recruiting class and has pushed him for his spot on the depth chart.
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Brown, who grew up in suburban Phoenix before moving to Utah for his senior year in high school, has two seasons of collegiate eligibility left.
He might have put himself in position to be the Buckeyes’ quarterback of the future before he was injured in the Cotton Bowl last December.
Following McCord’s transfer to Syracuse, Brown got the start for the bowl game against Missouri, a stage that presented a potential audition.
But Brown suffered a high-ankle sprain in the first quarter and never returned. In his lone career start, he attempted only six passes, completing four of them for 20 yards.
Six days following the bowl game, Howard announced his commitment to transfer to Ohio State.
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Despite Howard’s arrival, Brown sought to beat out Howard, having two years of experience within coach Ryan Day’s system. The strong-willed signal caller vowed to compete for the starting job during the offseason and forwent entering the portal when a spring window opened in April.
But Howard ultimately prevailed in a competition that was settled in August during preseason training camp.
Over his three seasons with the Buckeyes, Brown has completed 26 of 47 passes for 325 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.
His role as the backup has involved relieving Howard due to injuries, including in a win at Michigan State in September when he threw a pass to Jeremiah Smith that resulted in the superstar freshman making a one-handed catch for a 19-yard touchdown.
He most recently replaced Howard during the second quarter of Ohio State’s loss to Michigan when he was being evaluated for a head injury.
As the Buckeyes faced a fourth-and-1 at the Wolverines 33-yard line, he handed the ball off to Quinshon Judkins, who ran for 10 yards to move the chains.
The Buckeyes also used Brown’s mobility last season when McCord was behind center. He ran 22 times for 23 yards and a touchdown as part of a short-yardage package.
As Howard’s eligibility is expiring at the end of this season, Brown’s planned departure ensures the Buckeyes will lose at least two of their five scholarship quarterbacks.
It would leave Lincoln Kienohlz and Air Noland as the remaining passers with Sayin, the presumed frontrunner. Tavien St. Clair, a five-star quarterback from Bellefontaine, is also to enroll at Ohio State after he signed his scholarship agreement last week.
The portal’s winter window is open through Dec. 28 or five days after a team’s last postseason game. A spring window follows in April.
This story has been updated.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@joeyrkaufman or email him atjkaufman@dispatch.com.
