Ohio State fans got their first look at the Buckeyes’ three scholarship quarterbacks – Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair – in live action this year during Saturday afternoon’s spring game.
Whether it was due to the fact that he’s the most experienced quarterback on the roster or there was another reason, Kienholz got the start to begin the spring game. It came days after Ryan Day admitted that the soon-to-be junior quarterback and Sayin were “pretty much neck-and-neck” in the competition to be Ohio State’s QB1 in 2025, a statement that seemed to be much more sincere than just coachspeak.
While going against basic coverages throughout the majority of the game, each of the three quarterbacks showed glimpses of good quarterback play, with Sayin showcasing that in the first half and Kienholz and St. Clair doing so in the second half, as the latter seemed to settle in and showed off his arm talent in the final two quarters of the game.
But the most important thing was that each of the three received plenty of reps, which is important for the development of that quarterback room as a whole.
“I think it’s just a matter of playing the game. And that’s why I think we’ve talked about this this spring,” Day said about playing all three quarterbacks as much as OSU did in the spring game. “As the spring has gone on, I’ve just realized that at all positions, but most importantly at quarterback, we have to continue to play 11-on-11 football. And you can see the growth. You saw some growth even in the short amount of time that you guys were able to watch some of the practice this spring.”
“We have the ability to watch them on a daily basis, see them grow. And I wish I could say we need to get better at 1, 2, and 3, but I know we just need to play football with these guys. We’re young. We have a lot to work on. But I will say there was growth today.”
Sayin, though, received more passing reps than the other two quarterbacks, a majority of which came in the first half. The three quarterbacks combined to complete 40-of-60 passes for 465 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions on Saturday.