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Ohio State football backup QB Devin Brown expected to miss 'couple of weeks' with injury

Devin Brown, the backup Ohio State quarterback, is expected to miss at least a week or two after he was injured in the third quarter of the Buckeyes’ 20-12 win over Penn State.

Speaking during an appearance on the "Buckeye Roundtable" on 97.1 The Fan on Monday night, coach Ryan Day said, “We’ll kind of see how the week is going to go, it’ll probably be at least a couple of weeks.”

The Buckeyes rotated to Brown when they faced a second-and-goal at the Nittany Lions’ 6-yard line on Saturday, looking for his agility as a runner to help them out in the tight space near the goal line.

On his first snap, Brown faked a handoff to running back Chip Trayanum, kept the ball and ran toward the end zone, but was twisted up by defenders at the 1-yard line as he fell short of a touchdown.

Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Trainers help Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Devin Brown (33) off the field after he was injured at the goal line during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 20-12.
Oct 21, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Trainers help Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Devin Brown (33) off the field after he was injured at the goal line during the second half of the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won 20-12.

It appeared as if Brown injured his right ankle during the sequence, as FOX reported during its broadcast. Two trainers helped him off the field, and he left Ohio Stadium on crutches with his right foot in a walking boot. Day said that Brown hurt “a lower extremity.”

In the previous week’s win at Purdue, the Buckeyes first used Brown as part of a red-zone package

He ran eight times for 20 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the first quarter against the Boilermakers, though also fumbled on a later series.

The impact of the absence of Brown, who had pushed Kyle McCord for the starting job into the first two weeks of the season, will be over who will be the primary backup in case of injury.

The options for Ohio State included Tristan Gebbia, a seventh-year senior who transferred from Oregon State in January, and Lincoln Kienholz, a freshman from South Dakota.

Day said Gebbia and Kienholz will “work” as the backup in practice this week ahead of their trip to Wisconsin.

“Both have been doing a great job,” he added. 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.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football QB Devin Brown out for couple weeks with injury