Devin Brown held the inside track on Ohio State’s starting quarterback job three months ago.

It was December in the aftermath of Kyle McCord transferring to Syracuse, a departure that put Brown in position to audition as the top passer on the Buckeyes’ depth chart in the Cotton Bowl.

But Brown suffered a high ankle sprain in the first quarter of the loss to Missouri, cutting his opportunity short.

The following week, the Buckeyes also brought in Will Howard as a transfer from Kansas State. Having made 25 career starts with the Wildcats, a level of experience unmatched among the program’s quarterbacks, Howard is seen as the favorite to succeed McCord.

The series of events, though, have not changed the outlook for Brown, who has remained resolute. A day before the start of spring practice, he vowed to remain at Ohio State in a battle with Howard to start behind center.

“I’ve said it through and through, I’m a Buckeye,” Brown said, “and I’m here to compete no matter what.”

He has expressed such a sentiment since he enrolled in 2022, a potential contrast to the wave of passers throughout the sport who have taken advantage of relaxed NCAA transfer rules in recent years to search for greener pastures.

Brown on Monday again downplayed the public speculation about him transferring.

“Honestly, people are cowards," Brown said. "People have this thought in their own heads that I’m going to leave and that I’m a quitter, but that’s never been me. These people live wherever, or in their mom’s basement, and they don’t know s---. They don't know anything. They don't know who I am. They don't know who I've been, and that's always who I've been.”

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Brown said the coaching staff kept him in the loop about the pursuit of Howard in the aftermath of the bowl game.

Before Howard committed to transfer to Ohio State on Jan. 4, Brown knew it was a possibility. He was aware of the potential to add Howard before the winter window for players to enter the portal had closed two days earlier. It reopens on April 16.

“The coaches told me everything that was happening before it came out,” he said.

The addition of Howard has left Brown unfazed. Ever since he committed to the Buckeyes out of Corner Canyon High School in Utah, he recognized he would be surrounded in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center by other talented quarterbacks.

“That's Ohio State,” he said. “You're always going to have the best players. I didn’t care coming in who was in here. I’m going to come in and compete. That’s going to be my motto.”

Brown, who pushed McCord in a competition last offseason that continued into September, is in a better position than he was a few months ago.

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Not only did Brown injure his left ankle in the Cotton Bowl, but he had also sprained his right ankle in October.

Along with the fractured pinkie finger on his right hand that sidelined him for last year’s spring game, he was often banged up last year as a redshirt freshman.

“I’ve had a few reps here and there in moments that I don’t think really defined who I am,” Brown said.

As a backup behind McCord last season, he largely rotated in situations when the Buckeyes were looked to take advantage of his legs. And even those moments were limited by injuries.

One week after Ohio State debuted a short-yardage package that featured Brown as a runner, seeing him run for a touchdown in a rout of Purdue, he hurt his right ankle and was out the following weeks. He did not carry the ball again until the Cotton Bowl.

“We were slowly building that whole goal-line package,” Brown said, “and for the injury to happen, it just felt like it was all stripped away from me.”

That same disappointment returned in the bowl game.

“It just feels like it was all for naught and a waste of time,” Brown said. “At the same, I cherish that moment, and I'm thankful for that moment, because it's who I am today.”

Brown said the high ankle sprain has since healed, and it did not require surgery. He added that he was able to participate in all of the winter strength and conditioning workouts.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Devin Brown vows to compete for Ohio State football starting QB job