Ohio State football coach Ryan Day used the word “delicate” to describe the recruiting maneuvers that brought both Jack Miller and CJ Stroud into the Buckeyes’ 2020 signing class.
Delicate on a weekly basis, as the Buckeyes balanced the needs and expectations of two highly ranked quarterbacks, and delicate on an ongoing basis.
Which is not to say either Miller or Stroud has displayed any fragility in how he should be handled — quite the opposite. By next spring, however, one will clearly be in front of the other in the coaching staff’s eyes.
And then there is the third option, who will wrap up his high school career while Stroud and Miller battle to back up Justin Fields this fall. Top 2021 prospect Kyle McCord will give Ohio State a third potentially elite quarterback option when he arrives on campus. There is no reason to believe he won’t compete for the starting job as a true freshman.
Day and quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis will probably, more than once, call this a “good problem to have.” It may not be a problem at all. What makes these situations “delicate” is the two-way street of loyalty, balanced by a coach’s necessity to remove emotion from the decision and act in the best interests of the program.