Ohio State QB Devin Brown to miss ‘at least a couple of weeks’ with injury, says Ryan Day

The Buckeyes’ backup signal-caller could be on the shelf for an extended period.

Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown will likely miss “at least a couple of weeks” as a result of the injury he sustained in the Buckeyes’ win over Penn State, head coach Ryan Day said Monday on 97.1 The Fan’s “Buckeye Roundtable” show. Brown, who entered the Top 10 showdown for a short-yardage play near the goal line, injured “a lower extremity” on his first and only snap of the day.

Brown carried the ball on a quarterback keeper on second-and-goal, ran up the middle of the Penn State defense and plowed into traffic at the one yard line. The Buckeyes’ training staff assisted him off the field and into the medical tent before taking him into the locker room on a cart. FOX sideline reporter Jenny Taft reported on the television broadcast that Brown suffered a right ankle sprain.

“We’ll kind of see how the week is going to go,” Day said. “It’ll probably be at least a couple of weeks.”

In Brown’s absence, the primary backup duties fall on the shoulders of either Oregon State transfer Tristan Gebbia or four-star freshman Lincoln Kienholz. Day said that, with a trip to Wisconsin upcoming, both Gebbia and Kienholz will take backup reps this week in practice.

“Both have been doing a great job,” Day said. “Tristan has a great understanding of what we’re trying to do, and Lincoln is growing every day. He’s got a bright future. If need be, those guys will be ready to go.”

After coming up short in a quarterback competition that carried into the early part of the season, Brown saw action in five games for the Buckeyes. He completed 12-of-22 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, and as a capable runner, he took 19 carries for 35 yards and an additional score.

Ohio State unveiled a new offensive wrinkle in its Week 7 win at Purdue, calling upon Brown to operate goal-line and red zone packages. Brown entered the game for starter Kyle McCord on the second drive with the Buckeyes facing a third-and-one from Purdue’s 13-yard line. The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder followed his lead blocker around the left edge for eight yards to set up a first-and-goal on his very first play, and two snaps later he lowered his shoulder and plowed through a Purdue linebacker to get into the end zone for the first rushing touchdown of his career.

“Devin is very explosive with his feet,” Day said, via Bucknuts. “He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s athletic. We feel like he gives us a little bit of something there. He also throws the ball really well. But that’s something that we’ve looked at, we’ve been working on a little bit. We felt like this was the right time, on the road, to do that. I think it did give us something, equate numbers in the red zone.”