Today’s Topic: Is Ryan Day Going to Turn Ohio State Into QBU?
Watching another Tom Brady Super Bowl last night, I found myself wondering when we might see a Buckeye quarterback be a vital cog in an NFL championship run.
With his quarterback friendly offense, I do expect more Ohio State QBs to receive NFL opportunities over the next decade under Ryan Day. (Assuming there is a next decade, of course. And assuming they don’t all transfer.)
That then got me wondering if the Buckeyes under Day could be on their way to staking their claim as “QBU” down the road.
Given the fact that Haskins hasn’t done anything in the League yet, along with the low number of quarterbacks Ohio State has sent to the NFL over the decades, the notion of OSU becoming “Quarterback U” seems pretty unlikely at the moment.
Over the last 11 years, just two Buckeye quarterbacks have been drafted. Cardale Jones was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft, and Terrelle Pryor went in the third round of the 2011 Supplemental Draft.
All told, Ohio State has had 14 quarterbacks drafted since 1938 according to NFL.com, but that number includes both Rex Kern and Steve Bellisari who were selected to play in the secondary.
NFL.com’s list might be off by a guy or two, but you get the picture.
2016 – 4th round Cardale Jones
2011 – 3rd round (supplemental) Terrelle Pryor
2007 – 5th round Troy Smith
2004 – 5th round Craig Krenzel
1999 – 4th round Joe Germaine
1996 – 3rd round Bobby Hoying
1992 – 8th round Kent Graham
1988 – 3rd round Tom Tupa
1987 – 12th round Jim Karsatos
1982 – 1st round Art Schlichter
1976 – 11th round Cornelius Greene
1971 – 10th round Rex Kern
1971 – 15th round Ron Maciejowski
1955 – 7th round Dave Leggett
1955 – 13th round John Borton
That group has combined for 86 touchdown passes and 111 interceptions.
The most productive quarterback in Ohio State history is Mike Tomczak, who wasn’t even drafted.
So again, the idea that OSU could become QBU may seem outlandish, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with one Dwayne Haskins.
This April, Haskins is going to become the first Buckeye quarterback drafted in the first round in 37 years, and the first Big Ten quarterback selected in the first round since 1995.
And if all goes as planned for Ryan Day, he won’t be the last.
Ohio State has had some great quarterbacks over the years, but NFL success has been elusive.
Dwayne Haskins will have the best chance to change that trajectory. And the investment being made by whichever team drafts him will also allow him more mistakes than previous Buckeye quarterbacks received.
Haskins’ impact has already been felt with the transfer of Justin Fields. It doesn’t take long for quarterbacks to see somebody throw for nearly 5,000 yards and find that pretty appealing.
Fields and Matthew Baldwin will vie to become the next in a line being started by Dwayne Haskins. Whoever it is, both will be second-year players this season, so the starter will return in 2020 as well.
Day already has his 2020 quarterback committed in Jack Miller. Miller is the No. 4 pro-style quarterback in that recruiting cycle. The 2021 quarterbacks have already taken notice as well, but probably not as much as the NFL.
If the production is as expected this year and next, there will be few places more attractive for quarterbacks than Ryan Day’s Ohio State.
It will take awhile to earn the title of “QBU,” but if Day is at OSU for a good seven or eight years, he could send three or four quarterbacks to the NFL in that timeframe, including Haskins.
They will still need to produce once they get there, which is why Ohio State has such a firm claim on “DBU.” The Buckeye defensive backs in the league make plays and are seen every week. Haskins will need to get that same kind of ball rolling for Ohio State.