COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The first area that Ohio State football looks to revamp this spring is the quarterback room, one that is now without Kyle McCord. Instead, it’s crowded with returning players and fresh faces, including a transfer out of Kansas State who is considered to be the frontrunner for the starting position.

Of the guys in black jerseys at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center vying to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback, two of them already have big game experience as Buckeyes.

After McCord, who started last season, left for Syracuse, Devin Brown started the Cotton Bowl against Missouri before an injury caused Lincoln Kienholz to step in. Entering the spring, both have their sights set on being the starter.

“That’s Ohio State, you’re always going to have the best players, no matter what,” Brown said. “I didn’t care coming in here who was in here. I never cared who’s in here. … I’m going to come in and compete, and that’s always been my motto.”

Kienholz, entering his sophomore season, is taking a more understanding approach to the quarterback situation at Ohio State.

“I think everyone in the quarterback room is going to keep working hard. We’re going to push each other,” Kienholz said. “The coaches are going to play who they want to play, and we’ve just got to come in and keep working hard.”

But there’s no question that the person to beat is Howard, who brings championship experience to Columbus and has already made an impression on new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.

“You don’t have to talk to Will for more than five minutes to know where he’s coming from. He’s really focused,” Kelly said. “He knows he’s got a short window left in his college career and really wants to capitalize on what that is.”

The Downingtown, Pa. native comes to Ohio State with a sense of urgency and a level of maturity after four seasons with the Wildcats.

“I’ve got one more year. I didn’t come here to be nervous or to be timid or anything like that. I’m ready to go,” Howard said. “Nothing is too big for me, nothing is too big for this team — certainly not spring ball. It’s going to be a lot of learning across the board. But I’m excited for that. I want to embrace that.”

Howard’s toughest challenge this spring will likely come from Brown, who is eager to silence the critics who predicted he would head to the transfer portal.

“I think people are cowards. I think people have this thought in their own heads that I’m going to leave and I’m a quitter, but that’s never been me,” Brown said. “I have all the confidence in the world. I’ll never doubt myself. I’ll never have any waivers or anything like that. I’m always going to think I’m the best quarterback in the room, I’m the best quarterback in the country. So I’m going to attack it like that.”

Coach Ryan Day was impressed with his competitive attitude on the first day of spring ball.

“He had good demeanor. He had that same conviction out in practice today that he shared with you guys the past couple of days,” Day said. “So if he keeps building like that, he’s going to have one hell of a spring.”

Day is far from ready to name a starter. He said the position will have to be earned, even by a fifth-year transfer.

“You don’t just walk into Ohio State and think you’re going to go become the starting quarterback. It doesn’t work that way. There’s just too much pride here,” Day said. “There’s a lot of accountability that happens, and our guys take a lot of pride in that. There’s only one way to earn that, and that’s to earn it through respect.”

And earning respect is something Howard has already been working on.

“The best I can do is be encouraging to my teammates, have good relationships with everyone and then that’s where that starts,” Howard said. “That’s where I can feel like I can start to be a leader.”