For the third time in as many years, ever since quarterback C.J. Stroud left school early to enter the NFL Draft, the battle to become Ohio State’s next signal-caller has been among the driving storylines of each successive offseason, culminating with the Buckeyes‘ televised spring game for everyone to observe and dissect. The pattern established during the early portion of head coach Ryan Day’s tenure, when Stroud and predecessor Justin Fields developed into multi-year starters, now resembles a revolving door that, at least thus far, is producing wildly contrasting results.
In 2023, the first season post-Stroud, former five-star prospect Kyle McCord outdueled Devin Brown to win the starting job. McCord performed solidly at times while throwing for 3,170 yards and 24 touchdowns against only six interceptions, ultimately guiding the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record, but he fell noticeably short of the sky-high expectations that demand both excellence and whatever lies beyond for the starter at Ohio State. He wound up transferring to Syracuse last winter.
In 2024, as discussions about Day’s future began occupying more and more corners of social media, the Buckeyes attached themselves to Kansas State transfer Will Howard, an imposing physical specimen with a winning pedigree but mixed statistical production in four years with the Wildcats. Howard edged Brown atop the depth chart and turned in what was unquestionably the best season of his career — he passed for 4,010 yards with 35 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 73% of his throws — en route to winning the national championship and immortalizing his place in program history. Brown has since transferred to California.
All of which set the stage for this year’s quarterback competition that has pitted junior Lincoln Kienholz against sophomore Julian Sayin, with five-star freshman Tavien St. Clair in line behind them. Those three players attracted more eyeballs than most when Ohio State held its spring game before an announced crowd of 40,136 fans at Ohio Stadium over the weekend, with many more watching on Big Ten Network. Everyone wanted to form an opinion about which signal-caller should be next.
“You can see there was a fairly significant emphasis on throwing the ball to see how the quarterbacks were going to respond,” Day said during his postgame news conference. “We’ll use this as another evaluation tool because right from the jump, from when we got off the bus to when we just finished there, I’m glad we did this. I’m glad we did the spring game. It was definitely the right thing to do. I wish we could have stayed out there for another four hours and gotten these guys reps and gotten these guys work.”
Based solely on last Saturday’s showcase, which featured a modified game format that prevented quarterbacks from being hit and only allowed the second- and third-stringers to tackle, the leader in Ohio State’s clubhouse should be Sayin, anointed by many fans and analysts as the probable winner whenever Day solidifies the depth chart. Sayin completed 17 of 24 passes (70.8%) for 175 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions while flashing the tight-window accuracy and rapid decision-making that have endeared him to the Buckeyes’ coaches from the moment he arrived via the transfer portal last winter. It seemed logical that Sayin, who was the highest-rated quarterback in the 247Sports Composite for the 2024 recruiting cycle, would fill Howard’s shoes this fall and potentially run the show for his sophomore and junior seasons, if not longer, to restore some continuity at the game’s most important position.
But Sayin’s ascendance on the depth chart is not without growing pains, and local beat writers chronicling the team have documented some unevenness throughout the offseason, most notably during a public — but not televised — scrimmage the week before Ohio State’s spring game. Listed at 6-feet-1 and 203 pounds, both of which might be generous, Sayin still appears rather small when encircled by mammoth offensive and defensive linemen, a contrast to some of the statuesque quarterbacks Day has leaned on in recent years. He had one pass batted down at the line of scrimmage over the weekend and still must prove he can pump the ball downfield in adverse weather conditions. But the beautiful seam route touchdown he zipped to tight end Max Klare, a high-impact transfer from Purdue, and the rifled throw to wideout Mylan Graham against tight coverage on an in-breaking route showed why seemingly every school in the country recruited him out of Carlsbad High School in California.
“I think the thing for Julian is he’s realized he’s had some good days, he’s had some days he’s learning from,” Day said. “But a big trait of great quarterbacks is they’re resilient. They keep coming back and they keep learning. If they keep making the same mistake over and over again — not good. But I think all the guys have been [resilient] this spring. It was good to see him respond the way he did and rebound from a couple [rougher] practices early on.”
Sayin’s primary challenger is Kienholz, the most experienced quarterback among a group that will enter the 2025 season having logged just 96 collegiate snaps combined, unless the Buckeyes add a veteran in the spring portal window. Kienholz earned the bulk of his playing time during the 2023 Cotton Bowl after McCord left for Syracuse and Brown exited with an injury. That night, Kienholz completed just six of 17 passes for 86 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions in a dispiriting 14-3 loss to Missouri that invited questions about his long-term potential.
Rated a four-star prospect and the No. 15 quarterback in the 2023 recruiting class, Kienholz was originally committed to Washington before flipping his pledge late in the cycle and signing with the Buckeyes one week later. He only played eight snaps last season amid a crowded depth chart that also featured five-star freshman Air Noland, who signed with Ohio State long before Sayin arrived, and later transferred to South Carolina. But Kienholz decided to remain with the Buckeyes and has shown signs of growth this spring, edging Sayin in the public scrimmage last week.
In the spring game, however, Kienholz endured some early struggles before settling in as the afternoon progressed. A three-and-out on his opening drive gave way to a beautiful completion to wideout Brandon Inniss against zone coverage later in the first half, and his second-half read-option touchdown to Graham was among the better throws of the day by any quarterback. He finished 12-of-18 for 158 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a format that didn’t allow Kienholz, a true dual-threat player, to make adequate use of his athleticism outside the pocket.
“When you play basketball, baseball, lacrosse [growing up], you’re playing like seven games in a weekend,” Day said. “These guys play like 12 to 13 games in a year of 11-on-11, padded, live football. That’s it. So playing 7-on-7? That’s great. That’s not football. The throws that you’re making aren’t real because there’s no 6-foot-5 [offensive] tackle and a guy over here that’s trying to rip your head off.
“The more we can create those environments for our guys, the more they’ll figure out. And good athletes — like Lincoln and Julian and Tavien — they figure it out over time. You just have to continue to find ways to get out there. I wish we had 15 more practices in the spring to get out there and learn and grow from. But I think there has been progress made.”
And now begins the next phase of Ohio State’s competition following 15 spring practices and a pair of public showcases. With summer comes more conditioning, more individual work and more player-led drills that preempt the dog days of fall camp, when Day will ultimately crown his starter before a tricky opener against Texas on Aug. 30.
He missed on McCord but struck gold with Howard. So will it be Sayin or Kienholz up next?
Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
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