For the fifth time in Ryan Day’s tenure as the head coach at Ohio State, there’s a quarterback battle heading into Spring practices. The 2019 Buckeye quarterback battle was a foregone conclusion. The 2021 battle led all the way up until Week 1. 2023’s battle spilled into the regular season. Last year’s battle saw Will Howard take the reigns as Fall camp opened. This year? Day alleges that the three-way battle is wide open.
With Spring practice kicking off on March 17, let’s start looking ahead at the Buckeyes’ title defense. Replacing Howard is going to be a test of leadership. This quarterback room looks like it has the talent to take Ohio State to the next level but it’ll have to play up to that hype. With two young five-star athletes and an established veteran duking it out, the Buckeyes may be in for a lengthy battle, even if the choice seems clear to outside observers.
A Super Sayin Leads Buckeye Quarterbacks Into Spring Practice
Time For The Hype To Pay Off
If Julian Sayin is the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback this fall, prepare yourself for all of the Dragonball Z references. We will not refrain from using “Super Sayin” to describe his play, nor should you. The question heading into the Spring is will Sayin be Goku when he mastered Ultra Instinct or will he be more like Tarble?
Nerdy references aside, Sayin has the opportunity of a lifetime ahead of him. In 2023, he appeared in three regular-season games and the College Football Playoff matchup against Tennessee, thus preserving his redshirt. In total, Sayin took 27 snaps, the third-most among Buckeye quarterbacks. With those 27 snaps, Sayin attempted 12 passes and completed five for 84 yards and one touchdown. Obviously, he was on mop-up duty and did not give an accurate taste of what was to come.
Sayin enters the battle as the favorite to win the job. Even as an early enrollee last Spring, coaches were raving over his unreal accuracy and play-making abilities fresh out of high school. He was the second freshman to shed his black stripe behind the obvious choice, Jeremiah Smith. Sayin became the first freshman ever to have his black stripe removed during Spring practice since the tradition’s inception in 2012.
Sayin was evidently “in the mix” in the competition last year. Now, that could have just been coachspeak by Day to keep everyone on their toes but the fact remains that he was impressing coaches.
In a short time, Sayin has shown that he is able to make those quick decisions that separate a good quarterback from a great one. The question will be arm strength. However, if he is able to diagnose defenses and continue to be the most accurate of the bunch, the job is his to lose.
The South Dakota Wild Card
Realistically, the only other quarterback in the room with a semi-believable shot at winning the starting job is redshirt sophomore, Lincoln Kienholz. With the transfer of Devin Brown and Air Noland, Kienholz is the closest to the starting job as he’s been.
Before coming to Ohio State, Kienholz was a whale in a koi pond in high school. He led his alma mater to four state titles and was the 13th-best quarterback in the 2023 recruiting cycle. Kienholz became the first player from South Dakota to ever appear in a game for the Buckeyes in his true freshman season.
Last year, he was firmly behind Howard, Brown, and Sayin in the pecking order. In total, he appeared in two games for eight snaps. In 2023, he logged 60 snaps, 40 of which were in that disastrous Cotton Bowl loss in relief of the injured Brown. He could have joined Brown and Noland in the transfer portal but elected to stick with the Buckeyes.
Kienholz has the advantage of being in the Day system for the longest, now heading into his third season.
The athletic quarterback is a solid dual-threat who can use his legs to get out of sticky situations. He may not have the size of Howard (Kienholz is an inch shorter and 28 pounds lighter, according to Ohio State’s online roster) but stepping into the role may be more natural.
The eldest of the Buckeye quarterbacks could take this race with a strong Spring. He hasn’t been as flashy as Sayin has been in practice but if Kienholz has the veteran, steady hand, this battle could stretch all the way up until Week 1 against Texas.
The Home-Grown Talent
The wild card in this battle will be incoming true freshman, Tavien St. Clair. He has his work cut out for him against a pair of guys already entrenched in the system. However, St. Clair has the natural athletic ability to make things interesting.
Like Kienholz, St. Clair was a bit of a big fish in a small pond at Bellefontaine High School. The talent level of his competition likely did not adequately prepare him for what was waiting for him at the collegiate level.
The six-foot-four quarterback has been locked in with the Buckeyes ever since his initial commitment. He starred in various camps and was one of the top performers at last year’s Elite 11 Finals. Day recognized St. Clair for his leadership. Ever since that commitment, St. Clair has been working to bring more talent to Columbus by working on potential recruits.
He’s a pro style quarterback with the athletic ability to make plays out of structure. 247Sports compared him to Justin Fields, so time will tell if he is able to take over and lead the Buckeyes to multiple CFP appearances as Fields did.
Portal Addition
As of now, Sayin, Kienholz, and St. Clair are the only scholarship quarterbacks taking snaps in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. No matter what happens, Day is likely going to add a veteran quarterback via the transfer portal just for depth. That addition won’t be a Howard-type of player who will come in and compete but rather it’ll be a guy who wants to learn from Day and Hartline and has coaching aspirations.
Even then, things happen. Kienholz recently said, “If this spring doesn’t work out for me then I might have to look somewhere else,” before adding, “But that’s not really what I’m thinking of right now.” If Sayin is the odds-on favorite and is taking the overwhelming majority of snaps, the Buckeye quarterback depth will be shallow.
This battle is going to be one to watch. It will likely decide at least the next two seasons of the Ohio State offense. With Smith in Columbus for two more years, it’s crucial that Day picks the right guy to best take advantage of a generational talent.
Main Image: Barbara Perenic/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images
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