OSU quarterbacks: Is there competition or an heir apparent?

Julian Sayin of Ohio State throws a pass at practice last season.

AP Photo

COLUMBUS – It’s hard to remember a time when the heir apparent to a vacant starting quarterback job at Ohio State let that chance slip away.

Will Howard (2024), Kyle McCord (2023), C.J. Stroud (2021), Justin Fields (2019) and Dwayne Haskins (2018) all were preseason favorites to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback during spring practice for those seasons when there was no incumbent starter.

And every one of them started the opener despite Urban Meyer and later Ryan Day insisting the competition was too close to call until a few days or a few weeks before the first game.

It would be no surprise to see Julian Sayin join that list of OSU quarterbacks who went from heir apparent to starter this season.

Sayin, a 5-star recruit rated the top quarterback nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, arrived at OSU in January 2024 when he entered the transfer portal after enrolling at Alabama but having second thoughts when Nick Saban resigned as the Crimson Tide’s coach.

He played briefly in four games last season and threw one touchdown pass.

Starter Will Howard and No.2 quarterback Devin Brown are gone so Sayin’s competition at this point is coming from Lincoln Kienholz, who appeared in two games without throwing a pass last season, and freshman Tavien St. Clair.

New OSU quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler said it is much too early to discuss who the starting quarterback will be after the second day of spring practice for the Buckeyes on Wednesday.

“I think that we’re just a long way away from even talking about how close it is,” Fessler said. “Right now, those three guys are really just focused on getting better every single time they step in this…

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Publish date : 2025-03-20 03:59:00

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