Ohio State faces one of the most significant quarterback competitions of the offseason after losing national champion Will Howard to graduation. While former blue-chip Julian Sayin was the heavy favorite to win the job, coach Ryan Day claims the contest is far from over.
On Monday, Day noted that Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are “pretty much neck and neck” in the quarterback competition, according to Bucknuts 247. Kienholz is heading into his third year with the program after joining as a developmental prospect in 2023 out of Pierre, South Dakota.
According to reports from camp, Kieholz looked the part during the program’s first public scrimmage over the weekend. The redshirt sophomore has not recorded a stat since a disastrous showing as a true freshman when thrust into action against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, but he was never supposed to see the field that early. A three-sport star who was named National Athlete of the Year by USA Today, he clearly has the talent and athleticism to grow.
Regardless, Day’s words need to be taken with a grain of salt. In the era of the transfer portal, coaches have no choice but to do anything possible to keep quarterback depth on campus.
Ohio State will be Julian Sayin’s team
Sayin is a truly special quarterback recruit who has the chance to develop into Day’s first Day 1 quarterback since C.J. Stroud. The redshirt freshman was rated the No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 Top247 and transferred from Alabama to Ohio State right after Nick Saban retired. Sayin won Elite 11 MVP and analysts raved about his football IQ as a high school player.
Largely driven by Sayin’s emergence, Ohio State lost quarterbacks Air Noland (South Carolina) and Devin Brown (California) to the transfer portal….
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/despite-ryan-day-touting-ohio-state-qb-battle-as-neck-and-neck-julian-sayin-should-be-clear-frontrunner/
Author : Shehan Jeyarajah
Publish date : 2025-04-07 18:30:00
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