It was a season for the ages for the Ohio State Buckeyes. After going 10-2 (7-2) during the regular season, Ohio State went from being the No. 8 seed in the expanded College Football Playoff, all the way to being crowned national champions. They took care of business in January with signature wins over the Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
However, that was last year and this is now. Ohio State lost so much to the NFL Draft. Key players off last year's team such as Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins no longer play for Ohio State. More importantly, last season's starting quarterback Will Howard has exhausted all of his eligibility. He may not be the best pro prospect, but Ohio State still needs to replace him in 2025.
Here is what the Ohio State quarterback depth chart looks like heading into spring practice.
- Julian Sayin
- Lincoln Kienholz
- Tavien St. Clair
Sayin has played sparingly the last two years split between Alabama and Ohio State. The Carlsbad, California native has the highest upside of the Ohio State quarterbacking trio listed above, but he is also unproven. Lincoln Kienholz hails from South Dakota and has been with the program the longest. Tavien St. Clair is a talented true freshman from not that far away from Columbus. Who wins the job?
Here is how I envision Ohio State's quarterback battle is going to shake out before the Texas game.
Who is going to win the Ohio State Buckeyes starting quarterback battle?
I am going to apply logic to this as best as I can. Before I begin, we need to remember that not only are these quarterbacks lacking experience, but they will have a new voice in their head from the offensive coordinator position. Brian Hartline has been promoted to primary play-caller and Keenan Bailey also received a promotion from tight ends coach to co-offensive coordinator this offseason.
Whoever runs Hartline's offense the best will end up becoming the starter. Surely, Bailey and Ryan Day will have some say in who that ends up becoming. While Day is an offensive-minded head coach, he is going to want whoever replaces Howard to do one thing above all else: Take care of the football. Whoever is more turnover prone during spring practice is probably not going to win the starting job.
The other big thing to keep in mind is that because there are so many moving pieces, I would fully expect for Ohio State to keep this close to the vest for as long as possible. It does not serve them to name a starter until they absolutely have to. The Buckeyes will not want to give Texas any leaning one way or another as to who it may be. So now that we are all on the same page, who is going to win it?
Because St. Clair is a true freshman, I highly doubt he eclipses Kienholz or Sayin on the depth chart. That would be quite remarkable if that were the case. I think Ohio State will have it narrowed down to either Kienholz or Sayin after spring practice. They are not going to lean one way or another to prevent the guy who does not end up winning the job from transferring. There is also one other factor.
Because Sayin is seen to be more talented than Kienholz, the longer the quarterback battle continues, the more likely it will be Kienholz. If Sayin simply blows Kienholz out of the water in practice, Day and his staff are not going to be able to keep it a secret for very long. All I know is that if it is close, Sayin will get the edge, but if he does not assert himself, then you have to go with Kienholz.
It would not shock me to see both quarterbacks play a decent amount this season for Ohio State.