LGHL Asks: If Ohio State fans were in charge, they’d stick with the status quo at quarterback, running back

From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about what we would do if we were in charge of our favorite position group, team, conference, or sport. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”If I Was in Charge” articles here.

In this week’s survey, we asked fans who they would start at quarterback and running back if they were the ones in charge of the Ohio State football team. Given the concern that a lot of fans had coming out of spring practice about the offensive line, there is a bit more up in the air with the offense than we are used to in recent years, so it’s good to check the temperature of the fanbase on things like this.

Take a look at the results below and let us know if you agree with the Buckeye fan consensus or not in the comments at the bottom of the page.

Question 1: Who would you start at quarterback this season?

This is, of course, the most logical answer out of the options. Kyle McCord is the veteran — at least in terms of time at Ohio State — amongst the group and has actually started a game in Ryan Day’s offense already. Coming out of the spring practice season, he was the signal-caller that nearly every onlooker said had performed the best during the 15 practices.

However, I do find it interesting that Devin Brown — a QB that we have barely seen anything from — got more than one-quarter of the vote. I’m assuming that the 1% of voters who went with transfer Tristan Gebbia are just trolling, but I am curious what the thought process is for the Brown devotees.

It could be that they watched his high school film and were impressed by his athleticism. Though McCord’s ability to move is probably underappreciated, Brown is more of a mobile threat, so I suppose that could be driving the votes. Of course, there could also be a logical reason that has nothing to do with Brown’s ability at all.

Because Brown injured his hand in the last practice before last month’s spring game, we didn’t get a chance to see him in action, meaning that we did see more of McCord. And while he wasn’t exactly getting competent protection, he looked... fine. Not horrible, but not fantastic. Admittedly, neither Justin Fields nor C.J. Stroud set the world on fire in their first OSU spring games, so that doesn’t necessarily mean that the McCord era is doomed for failure.

However, it could have convinced some Buckeye fans that Kyle ain’t the guy. I would not go that far, as I voted for McCord, but I think that’s the only explanation as to why Brown scored so highly. It was less about him, and more of a protest vote against McCord.

Question 2: Who would you start at running back this season?

This one is more interesting to me that the quarterback question. Unlike in the QB room, the running backs have a slew of talented, experienced, and proven studs to choose from; in fact, they might have too many. Because of all of the injuries the position suffered last season, none of Ohio State’s running backs got to show what they were fully capable of, but they were able to show enough to get us excited.

There were times last season when I thought that Miyan Williams looked like a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. While those moments were disappointingly fleeting as he suffered unfortunate injury after unfortunate injury, Meatball Chop became even more of a fan-favorite than he already was. So I am a bit surprised that TreVeyon Henderson ended up with twice as many votes.

Now don’t get me wrong, I think Henderson — if healthy — probably deserves to start, given his insane amount of physical gifts, but the discrepancy between the two is a bit surprising to me. Personally, I don’t think that you can go wrong starting either, and I would keep their snaps fairly even throughout the season, assuming they both remain healthy.

I suppose if I were in charge, I would start Trey with a healthy dose of Miyan. Then, ride the hot hand based on game flow, and get them both out when the game is decided. From there, turn to Dallan Haden, Evan Pryor, or Chip Trayanum in order to make sure they are staying fresh and have enough experience to step up if they are called upon.