Ohio State Quarterback Announces Transfer Decision After National Title Game
01/21/2025 12:28 PM
Devin Brown waited until after the College Football Playoff to pick his new school.
The Ohio State quarterback entered the transfer portal in early December but stayed with the team as Will Howard's backup through the postseason. On Monday night, Brown celebrated a National Championship Game victory over Notre Dame with his teammates.
On Tuesday, Brown reportedly committed elsewhere. According to On3's Pete Nakos and ESPN's Max Olson, Brown signed with California.
Brown joined Ohio State as a four-star recruit in 2022. After sitting behind C.J. Stroud as a freshman, he lost a starting competition to Kyle McCord the following year.
Ohio State replaced McCord by snatching Howard from the transfer portal. As a result, Brown has seen limited reps during three years in Ryan Day's program.
Brown has completed 27 of 48 career pass attempts for 331 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Most of his work occurred in early-season blowout wins over non-conference opponents, but he threw a six-yard pass in Ohio State's CFP victory over Tennessee.
"That's just college football," Brown said last week, per Patrick Murphy of 247Sports. "It never works out the way that anybody really expects it to. So last year, dealing with a ton of injuries and not playing as much as I really wanted to, it just kind of fuels you a little more. It never really got me down in the dumps or anything like that. I just wanted to keep doing more and more and get back out and prove what I can do."
When announcing his decision to enter the portal on Dec. 8, Brown said he would wait until after the postseason to transfer. He wanted to "honor my commitment for the remainder of the season as we pursue our goal of winning it all."
Brown told Murphy he had one-on-one meetings with Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who let him remain with the team through the Playoff.
"In that conversation, I also said I think it's only right that I stay and stick to my word and finish things the right way," Brown said. "And they agreed because I'm the backup. And if something happens, they need me to come in and help this team win."
Brown will now pursue more playing time at Cal, which went 6-7 in its ACC debut. Last year's starter, Fernando Mendoza, transferred to Indiana.
Related: Ohio State Quarterback Transferring After College Football Playoff
