Julian Sayin or Tavien St. Clair? Ohio State HC Ryan Day details challenges with young QB battle
The Ohio State Buckeyes are replacing eight offensive starters after winning a National Championship less than two months ago. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day can't think about the stars who are off to greener pastures because spring practices are approaching and several key positions have battles. There's not a more important positional battle than […]
The Ohio State Buckeyes are replacing eight offensive starters after winning a National Championship less than two months ago. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day can't think about the stars who are off to greener pastures because spring practices are approaching and several key positions have battles.
There's not a more important positional battle than who will be Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2025. Will Howard and Devin Brown are gone, leaving 5-star sophomore Julian Sayin, freshman Tavien St. Clair, and 4-star third-year sophomore Lincoln Kienholz.
It's one of the least-experienced rooms possible. Sayin played in four games as a true freshman and Kienholz has only seen action in five games over two seasons.
"They're young. We need them to be tough. We need them to be a leader," Day said. "Long way to go on it. Don't have any evaluation on it now. Gonna be a big spring for those guys."
There are a ton of changes beyond just a new starting quarterback on the unit. The backfield will be completely different, Emeka Egbuka is gone, the offensive line has two new tackles, and a star tight end has arrived.
But the coaching staff was also shaken up with Chip Kelly departing for the NFL.
Leadership is a big concept for what will be an extremely young team compared to the lineup they used in 2024. Sayin had only 12 passing attempts last year, and Kienholz has only 22 in his career.
Reacting to negative plays and bouncing back from mistakes will be key, and part of the reason why it's an open race.
St. Clair, who looks most like an NFL quarterback and was incredibly impressive in high school, is likely behind the two quarterbacks who have worked with Day and Brian Hartline for at least a season. However, it's not out of the question he's the right person and leader to overcome his lack of experience.
It'll be fascinating to see how the early returns of practices either bring more confidence or panic within the Buckeyes' program.
