Ohio State quarterbacks embrace competition, ready to welcome Quinn Ewers at the start of preseason camp



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If any of the three-quarters of Ohio State who have competed for the starting position all year are upset that Quinn Ewers will join that competition soon, they did not show it on Tuesday.

As they met reporters for the first time this year roughly 16 hours before the Buckeyes’ first fall camp practice, the three-quarters who are currently on the roster expressed similar feelings about the competition.

They all improve on each other. They all try to improve themselves every day. They knew they were going to have to compete when they chose to come to Ohio State. They all want to start, but they’re also teammates who see each other as brothers, not enemies.

“We understand that we all want the same goal,” said CJ Stroud. “But it’s not in any aspect of us hating ourselves or anything like that.” We are all brothers, we all love each other and I think when you come here we compete every day.

Stroud said it made him “so much better” to have Jack Miller and Kyle McCord pushing him every day, whether on the training ground, in the weight room or in the boardroom. Miller said “we are all pushing each other every day.”

“I think that’s how you get the best of yourself competing in a competition like this with guys who are as good as you,” Miller said. “I think that’s how we get better.”

McCord said Miller and Stroud, who have both been at Ohio State for a year older than him, have helped him get better since moving to Columbus in January.

“Coming in I wasn’t sure what the venue was going to be like, but they took me under their wing right away,” said McCord. “When I first got here they really helped me learn the playbook and gave me little tips here and there. And then just on the training ground with them, it’s really good, just to see how they do it. And then you can pick up little things from their game. So I think we’ve all helped each other improve, especially this spring and summer. ”

Stroud says quarterbacks will take the same approach with Ewers whenever he arrives later this month.

“We’ll accept him into the room with open arms, just like we did with Kyle,” Stroud said. “At the end of the day, everything is a brotherhood. I don’t believe in beef with my teammates or anything like that. Me and Quinn are really cool anyway, so I’m really excited to have him here.

McCord said he doesn’t think Ewers’ reclassification will change the way quarterbacks approach the competition.

“Obviously the three guys who are here have just competed all the time, and I think even if you add another guy it will still be the same competition every day,” said McCord. “And so I think it brings out the best in all of us.”

Although Ewers is not yet on campus, McCord and Stroud have already met him – most recently, Stroud spent some time with Ewers in the Elite 11 Finals earlier this summer – and they expect to what a good candidate for the quarterback. room.

Specifically, Stroud said he was thrilled that Ewers had the opportunity to start making money from his name, image and likeness, which Ewers and his family say is the main reason for which he decided to skip his final season at Southlake Carroll High School and enroll at Ohio State a semester earlier than expected.

“I’m happy for him, man. He’s a good boy and I’m happy he can make some money, ”Stroud said. “At the end of the day, if you have money to make, you better go and earn that money. So I’m happy for him.

Miller said he didn’t know Ewers yet, but said he was okay with another quarterback joining the competition. And while Ewers will certainly have substantial ground to catch up on when he arrives if he wants to make a run at the start of this year, Miller said he would not rule out the possibility that Ewers could commit the offense in a matter of minutes. weeks only.

“It’s a very rare situation. That’s what you come to Ohio State for, ”Miller said. “At the end of the day, you come here to compete and be in this room with the best guys in the country. So now we do.

“I think that’s how you get the best out of yourself, is to compete in a competition like this with guys who are as good as you are.”– Jack Miller on the Ohio State quarterback competition

Quarterbacks said Ryan Day has yet to speak to them about Ewers’ reclassification. Day, who was not allowed to speak to Ewers on Tuesday because he has yet to sign a letter of intent or register with Ohio State, said he wanted to keep the focus on players who are already on campus at the start of preseason camp.

“We’ll cross this bridge when we get there,” Day said. “But for now, the focus is on this team and the No.1 training tomorrow.”

Over the next 29 days, and ideally the first two weeks of camp, Day and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis will need to pick a starting quarterback for the season opener in Minnesota. For now, however, they’re trying to keep quarterbacks focused on their own development rather than what the pecking might be at position, knowing that they might need multiple quarterbacks to play this season anyway. .

“For us to win championships and get to where we need to go, this room has to be strong, and they have to shoot for each other,” Day said. “We’re going to need this whole room to be strong. The last time they won a national championship it took several guys to win it, and I know it probably will be this year.

McCord, Miller and Stroud all say they have taken this message to heart and are doing what they can to put themselves in a position to help the team this year, whatever their role.

Coach Day told us in our meeting, he said, ‘You said you’re going to want to dislike yourself, but the top performing teams here, you know, the national championship team (2014), you used all three quarters, ”Miller said. “So I just think everyone’s going to play a part.”

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