Well, winning the National Championship title and saving his HC job was not enough for the Ohio State Buckeyes HC Ryan Day. He now has to deal with the QB battle as well. The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost their QB star, Will Howard, to the 2025 NFL Draft. Right now, there are too many cooks in Day’s QB room. While QB Julian Sayin gathers all the hype, it looks like there are some serious mind games going on in Columbus with the entry of Lincoln Kienholz. Meanwhile, Jeremiah Smith is also stirring the pot.  

The fight is for the QB1 position in Day’s squad, folks! It’s bound to be a neck-to-neck battle. That’s when the HC, instead of picking his clear favorite, tries to complicate the plot. For Day, everybody holds the same amount of chance. In an interview, he stated, “It’ll be a fierce competition. Lincoln [Kienholz] and Julian, and then Tavien [St. Clair]. We’re excited to see those guys compete.” On the WBNS 10TV podcast, here comes forward a new narrative. The host, along with Tim May, gave a rundown of the present situation in Columbus, where the Buckeyes do not want to break anyone’s heart. 

“Everybody believes Julian Sayin is the man to beat. I believe Julian Sayin is the man to beat,” May sounded all confident. After all, Sayin carries the Nick Saban factor, which was picked up by the GOAT himself. After that, he casually drops St.Clair and Kienholz’s names in the same line. Kienholz arrived in Columbus in 2023 and appeared in three games that year. It included the bowl game against Missouri after Devin Brown suffered an injury. In 2024, he had made two appearances but didn’t throw a pass. It was then Sayin’s turn to join him in the QB room. So, this made the host inquisitive about the Kienholz scenario.

He questioned May, “The fact that he is still there, what does that tell you?” That’s when the analyst shared, “Well, it tells you somebody whispered in his ear, “Hey, you know what, you got a shot here.”” Gradually, Sayin’s competition is rising. 

J.D. PicKell weighs in on the ideal QB choice for Ryan Day

The fight for Sayin for so long was between Kienholz and St. Clair. Here enters another competitor and a stout one- Smith! For so long, Day had to pick someone who looked like a good prospect when it came to accurate throws. Looks like the HC will now have to take into account one more important criterion. That is the Smith criteria. On the On3 podcast, J.D. PicKell stated, “I want the individual who is the most accurate who has the best you know prototypical passer.” 

But according to the analyst who stands the most chance?  “I suppose on this group like I want Julian Sayin to be the guy throwing Jeremiah Smith the football,” PicKell sounded all confident. After all, the 19-year-old has thrown for 300+ yards against Liberty and Poway. Here’s how Sayin is already hoarding praises.

Analyst Blake Ruffino, for example, believes that it’s either Julian Sayin or no one. He stated, “Until Ryan Day tells me that Julian Sayin’s not going to be the starting quarterback at Ohio State, Julian Sayin is the quarterback that I’m thinking that’s going end here.” As an example, he reminds of the 2024 QB scene in Ryan Day’s program. Just like Devin Brown had caught the hype with Will Howard on the board, the QB1 crown went to Howard. Now let’s see who Day confirms as the winner in the QB battle.