It ain’t over till it’s over. If you thought Julian Sayin was a shoo-in for the starting job at Ohio State, think again. The QB dilemma is getting messier by the day. With spring practice in full swing, it’s obvious that this race is wide open. Ryan Day keeps saying it’s a three-man battle—Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and Tavien St. Clair. And a longtime OSU football insider isn’t buying that the Alabama transfer QB is the clear-cut leader in this battle. 

Speaking with Dom Tiberi on WBNS 10TV on March 21, Ohio State beat writer Tim May was asked if he believed the “3-man-race” narrative. He responded, “I do,” but quickly highlighted a Lincoln Kienholz factor that couldn’t be ignored. “The thing that struck me was how much bigger Lincoln Kienholz looks. He looks the part, No.1.” He then added two more points: “No. 2, he’s been around longer than either of the other two. No.3, I think we all are handing it to Julian Sayin right out of the gate, but I mean, until you do it in front of the coaches and do it consistently, meaning run the offense, throw to the right people, throw accurately, all those kind of things, it’s still up in the air.” Experience and consistency matter.

For now, Ryan Day hasn’t tipped his hat yet. As Dom Tiberi noted, the HC is keeping an incredibly close eye on the competition. The level of his involvement on the offense could be heightened now that Matt Patricia is handling the defensive duties. But Lincoln Kienholz remains the wild card. As Tiberi added, critics like to pull out his 2023 Cotton Bowl performance to put him in the back seat. But come on, he was a true freshman then and was thrown to the wolves. Lincoln Kienholz completed just 6 of 17 attempts (35.3%) of his passes for 86 yards and incurred one sack while replacing an injured Devin Brown. They lost 14-3 to Missouri. 

But there’s a contributing factor to that poor show. As May said, it was “the worst offensive line performance I think I’ve ever covered at Ohio State.” This is the word of a man who’s been covering the Buckeyes since 1984. Tiberi also labeled him as “a solid young man” who is “one heck of an athlete.” But the dilemma is intense.

With many seeing the 19-year-old Sayin as a presumptive starter, May said, “You wouldn’t cookie-cutter Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. They are not the same kind of quarterback really when you get right down to it. But it does finally come down to running the plays, throwing accurately.” But who’s the better athlete in this three-man race? Well, May has his own answer that deepens the dilemma.

“From watching them over the years, I mean, probably Lincoln Kienholz, but Tavien St. Clair can run with anybody but he prefers to stand there and throw the ba-l. And we know Julian Sayin, I mean elite 11 and all that kind of stuff. He definitely prefers to stand there and deliver the ball from the pocket. But he’s shown in practices and stuff, he could scoot.” Not an easy pick, indeed.

Ryan Day speaks of the No. 1 job for his starter 

As far as general preference goes, Julian Sayin holds the reins to be the potential starter in 2025. He’s the hype with an insane high school production, completing 72% of his passes. Even Will Howard touts him as one of the “most accurate quarterbacks.” But 5-star true freshman Tavien St. Clair has emerged as his $1M threat who could steal that QB1 spot. And now, Lincoln Kienholz is finding his spot in the conversation, which only heightens Ryan Day’s difficult decision.

Nevertheless, Ryan Day has a clear job description for whoever gets that nod under center. “The No. 1 job for the quarterback is being the hardest-working guy in the building. There shouldn’t be any question,” he declared. “Like if someone says, ‘Who’s our hardest-working guy?’ It should be the quarterback. If it’s somebody else, that’s a problem. They should be the first one in the building and the last one to leave.” 

The dilemma could stretch till the preseason practices, as Tim May predicts—“You want to keep everybody invested, everybody involved… With these three guys having so little experience…why would you hasten that decision?” But for now, Ryan Day’s QB dilemma remains a battle for the fittest.