Ryan Day on Quinn Ewers' adjustment to Ohio State: 'It's been hard for him.'
Bill RabinowitzWhen Quinn Ewers decided to forgo his senior year of high school to enroll early at Ohio State, a game like Saturday’s against Akron might have seemed an ideal opportunity for him to get playing time.
Don’t hold your breath.
Buckeyes coach Ryan Day didn’t definitively close the door on that possibility, but it sounds unlikely. Day said that the transition to Ohio State has been difficult, largely because of the timing of Ewers’ move.
Ewers arrived at Ohio State just after the start of training camp in August. He then missed some time with a minor injury.
“I think he would tell you that it's been hard for him, kind of jumping into this thing during the preseason, and then being out for a little bit of a stretch,” Day said.
Ewers, from suburban Dallas, was the top-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class. He announced he would enroll in college to take advantage of name, image and likeness opportunities newly available in college but not in Texas for high-school players. He subsequently signed an endorsement deal reportedly worth $1.4 million.
Where is Quinn Ewers on the Ohio State football depth chart?
Despite his five-star status, it was never realistic for Ewers to compete with C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord for the starting job this year, especially early in the season. Any player needs time to acclimate to college football and college life.
Ohio State is trying to speed the process, but there’s no substitute for time and experience.
“We're trying to get him as much information as we can, but there's a lot of catching up to be done there,” Day said. “He's trying. He's working at it. But once we get into the season, it's very, very difficult to get guys to catch up and get them the reps, because we need to get the guys reps who are going to play in the game.”
Stroud has taken all of the snaps in the Buckeyes’ first three games. Ohio State is a 50-point favorite over Akron on Saturday night, so it’s expected that backups will get their first chance at playing time, especially with Stroud dealing with a sore shoulder. Those snaps almost certainly will go to McCord and/or Miller. Day hasn’t declared who is second string behind Stroud.
Day said Ewers does get “a few reps” in practice and does individual work afterward.
“I can’t sit here and tell you he gets enough reps to be able to prepare to play in a game right now,” Day said. “It’s really impossible once you're into the season to give somebody reps. These young quarterbacks need as many reps as they can just get ready to play in the game.”
Brabinowitz@dispatch.com
@brdispatch