COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Corey Dennis spoke with the media for the first time as Ohio State football's new quarterback coach, and it was easy to tell that it was his first time speaking during a press conference.
Dennis struggled at times to find the words to say and, at one point, forgot a question asked by a reporter. But he's not being evaluated by how well-spoken he is with reporters, though it does come with the job and he'll need to get used to doing so.
He won't even be judged based on what Justin Fields does in 2020. Fields is going to be a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate. As long as he's healthy, he'll play well enough to not only be in the running to return to New York City next fall but also be in a two-person race with Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence to be the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Where Dennis will be judged is in his ability to get early enrollees Jack Miller and C.J. Stroud, ready to be the backup quarterback in 2020 and the potential starter in 2021. How those two develop over the next 12 months will provide the proper answer to whether head coach Ryan Day made the right decision in who he replaced Mike Yurcich with.
His second job is showing his ability to evaluate quarterback recruits and find the Buckeyes 2022 commits. So far, Ohio State has only offered three quarterbacks in that class with five-star California native Maalik Murphy of Junipero Serra High School as the lone player with a ranking.
Watch the video above to see our thoughts on Dennis’ first press conference and subscribe to Ohio State football on cleveland.com on YouTube for coverage and analysis from the College Football Playoff semifinals throughout the weekend.
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