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Max Olson
Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown has signed with Cal, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.
After winning a national championship with the Buckeyes on Monday night, Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback is looking for an opportunity to start and will join the Golden Bears. Brown has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Brown entered the NCAA transfer portal on December 9, but remained with the team through the College Football Playoff.
The redshirt sophomore was the No. 81 overall recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2022 and lost a competition with Kyle McCord for Ohio State’s starting job at the start of the 2023 season. This season, Brown appeared in nine games backing up Will Howard.
Brown threw for 331 yards with three touchdowns and one interception on 56% passing and rushed for 37 yards and a score in three seasons at Ohio State. He earned a start in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at the end of the 2023 season, but exited with an ankle injury in a 14-3 loss to Missouri.
After losing to the Tigers, Ohio State coach Ryan Day called on Howard, a Kansas State transfer who guided the program to its first College Football Playoff national championship since 2014 Howard earned offensive MVP honors in the Buckeyes’ 34–23 title game victory over Notre Dame after completing 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.
The Buckeyes lose Howard, Brown and freshman backup Air Noland to South Carolina as they begin preparations to defend their national title in 2025. Julian Sayin, a former five-star recruit, is expected to be the favorite in the Buckeyes’ quarterback competition enters its redshirt freshman season.
Brown joins a Cal team after a 6-7 record in his first year in the ACC that must replace starter Fernando Mendoza, who transferred to Indiana. Brown will be competing against incoming freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who joined the program after a brief stint at Oregon.
