Ryan Day sends a very clear message to Ohio State quarterbacks battling for starting job that they will want to buy in on
Ohio State is set to have a new starting quarterback for a fourth straight season in 2025. The Will Howard era lasted one year and was capped off with a National Championship. Now, the Buckeyes are set to turn the keys over once again. Sophomore QB Julian Sayin is the heavy favorite to win the […]
Ohio State is set to have a new starting quarterback for a fourth straight season in 2025. The Will Howard era lasted one year and was capped off with a National Championship. Now, the Buckeyes are set to turn the keys over once again.
Sophomore QB Julian Sayin is the heavy favorite to win the job and junior Lincoln Kienholz is the likely backup, ideally. Phenom freshman Tavien St. Clair is in the mix as well, but his time is likely to come in the distant future.
Following the first practice of the spring, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day revealed a firm expectation that he has for the starting quarterback of the Buckeyes.
"The No. 1 job for the quarterback is being the hardest-working guy in the building," Day stated after the first practice. "There shouldn't be any questions, like if someone says, 'Who's our hardest-working guy?'. It should be the quarterback. If it is somebody else, that's a problem. They should be the first one in the building and the last one to leave.”
Sayin is a former Elite 11 winner and is going to take the job at some point, it is a matter of when. Day said on Monday that the Buckeyes will ‘roll’ the quarterbacks out there to start things in the spring and go from there.
Entering his junior season, Kienholz is an upperclassman now and the oldest guy of the group. The spring is a crucial one for Kienholz, who is likely taking on his last shot to take the job at Ohio State.
Sayin’s quick release of the football is already being raved about after one day of spring practice and it is a part of the game that already has NFL folks intrigued. Still, Sayin is going to have to earn the job and cement himself as a leader.
Day has had a ton of success with quarterbacks in Columbus and that should continue in 2025 with a talented group. The expectations like the one that Day laid out about being the hardest worker fits right in with the culture Ohio State has.
Ryan Day gives strong backing on why a former elite recruit can succeed after a position change at Ohio State
He’s going to try to carve out a role.
