All the focus for the Ohio State Buckeyes right now is on the injury to quarterback Julian Sayin. Ohio State is coming off a top-5 road win over the Indiana Hoosiers. However, Sayin went down with an arm injury during the game and left the stadium in a sling.

According to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, Sayin is going to be out at least several weeks. That puts the Buckeyes’ quarterback room under the spotlight during the bye week. Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is already weighing in on who should be taking the snaps.

Luke Fahey steps in for Ohio State now

When Sayin went down against Indiana, Ohio State turned to true freshman Luke Fahey. The former 3-star recruit out of California has been the backup all season. Fahey went 0-for-2 passing in relief against the Hoosiers.

It was a hard spot for a true freshman, on the road in a tough environment against a top-5 opponent. Still, his debut raised concerns about whether he can run this offense over several weeks or longer.

Fahey earned the backup job by beating out sophomore Tavien St. Clair. St. Clair was a former 5-star recruit in the class of 2025. He has played in three games over the last two seasons for the Buckeyes. In that time, he completed five of nine passes for 52 yards, a touchdown, and one interception.

Urban Meyer wonders about the former 5-star

Meyer went on his podcast, The Triple Option, after the win over Indiana. He questioned whether Ohio State will turn to St. Clair even though he isn’t the backup.

“I’m curious to see if they try the five-star,” Meyer said. “I know how talented he is, it’s perplexing why he’s not the quarterback, why he didn’t jog on the field when Sayin went down.”

This goes back to the coaching staff’s evaluation of the quarterback depth chart. Day and his staff deemed Fahey the better backup, so the Buckeyes are likely to ride with him all signs point to. 

On the flip side, St. Clair arrived as a top quarterback recruit from the Buckeye State. He’s a 6-foot-4 quarterback with dual-threat ability. If he can put it all together the way Ohio State hoped when he signed, playing him makes sense. Whether the Buckeyes make that move at some point remains to be seen.

Buckeyes won’t get much rest during the bye week

Meyer also expects Ohio State to work hard this week despite the bye. He admitted he normally gave his teams some time off during a bye. However, he doesn’t think Day and the Buckeyes will be able to do much of that because of the quarterback situation.

“To my understanding Ohio State’s got a very unselfish team. They’re going to go practice a bunch this week and get the backup quarterback [ready]. Because you’ve got a real one coming.”

LIf Fahey is the starter as expected, he will head on the road to face a USC team that sits at 6-1. It won’t be easy for a true freshman, though the trip does bring him back to his home state of California.

The Buckeyes have plenty of questions at the quarterback position right now. Those answers may not come until the ball is kicked off against the Trojans.