Will Devin Brown’s Cotton Bowl performance decide Ohio State’s next move at quarterback?

ARLINGTON, Texas — Ohio State football handed the starting quarterback job to Devin Brown in totality for Friday’s Cotton Bowl game against Missouri.

More questions, though, linger as to exactly what the Buckeye quarterback room will look like next spring. Some established quarterbacks remain in the NCAA transfer portal, and more could enter before it closes for this window on Jan. 2.

Asked Thursday what influence Brown’s Friday performance will have on whether OSU brings in another contender, Day chose to focus on the potential upside for the second-year quarterback.

“Everybody in this game has got an opportunity to build some momentum for next year,” Day said. “Devin’s exactly in that situation. This is exactly what he wanted. He wanted this opportunity. So he’s taken it and run the last few weeks. I think the guys on the team feel it. They feel his presence out there. What a great opportunity for him to do that.

“Once the season is over, we’ll kind of figure out where we’re at with everything. But as of right now, he’s our quarterback moving forward. This is a great opportunity for him to go build more confidence with the guys around him as we head into next season.”

Brown lost a preseason competition to Kyle McCord, but remained in the mix and ran a goal-line package for a few games before suffering an ankle injury.

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Had McCord stayed on for a fourth season, Brown would have faced a decision about whether to stay for a third year as a backup or move on. Instead, McCord transferred to Syracuse, pushing Brown to the top of the depth chart.

Coaches and teammates have spoken positively about Brown’s performance in practices this month. Friday, though, will show how far he has progressed in the ball-security and decision-making issues that cost him a chance to seize the job preseason.

To pin that completely on one game — his first start, in a New Year’s Six bowl against a top-10 opponent and without some of the weapons McCord had at his disposal — might seem extreme. At the same time, Day is also under pressure to make the best quarterback decision for the entire roster.

To his credit, Brown said Wednesday he has chosen to focus only on Friday.

“We really haven’t talked too much about it,” Brown said. “I’ve always been worried about me and that’s never gonna change. I never cared who was in the room coming into this place. I was excited to have people in the room and go against them. So that’s always been my deal.”

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