Turns out, even lugging that National Championship trophy around wasn’t enough to keep Ryan Day chill. Success means you gotta keep making the smart calls consistently, right? With the 2025 season peeking around the corner, Ohio State’s got themselves a QB headache. Yes, Will Howard, once Day’s favored QB, is set to enter the pro league. While his NFL Combine performance may have dampened his hype, that’s no longer the head coach’s concern. Day is now having a tough time choosing his QB1 among the trio—Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and Tavien St. Clair.
That’s when Day’s assistant coach, Billy Fessler, broke his silence during the press meet. While both Sayin and Kienholz received praise, St. Clair garnered a particularly strong review from the coach. Meanwhile, rumors are haunting the Buckeyes as one of the QBs might hit the exit doors.
Ryan Day’s QB coach’s lukewarm assessment of Tavien St. Clair
Maybe this is what Day has signed up for. Instead of making his final call, he wanted the three competitors to prove themselves on the stage. Yes, the HC is enjoying the QB battle as it is heating up. “They’re young. They’re gonna have to compete. We need a quarterback to be tough. We need him to be a leader.” As in the Day’s words, the QBs have a “long way to go” before they can rest; fans are inquisitive about who has the edge. While Fessler tried to maintain a diplomatic stance, his words did the honors. The QB coach started with Kienholz.
“A guy that’s going into his third…Lincoln has definitely stepped up from a leadership perspective. You can see the way he attacks workouts.” Kienholz played a little bit for OSU during the 2023 season, compiling 111 yards through the air, no touchdowns, and no interceptions. However, he is getting better and better. Now what about Sayin?
Well, he has a lot of hype being a 5-star recruit in the 2024 class. Day’s assistant coach seems to be flattered by Sayin’s indomitable spirit. He did compete with Howard but failed to bag the role last season. But so what? “He could have turned it down, been bummed out and not attacked it the right way, but I saw him continue to grow throughout the year. I saw him learn from Will and to get to a point this year where he can now step up and be more of a vocal leader.” When discussing first-year St. Clair, Fessler’s remarks carried a subtle, dismissive tone.
“Tavien really should still be in high school.” However, later on, Day’s coach tried to manage it by showing St.Clair’s hardworking persona while his skills are under construction. Fessler continued, “Instead, he’s in my office all the time learning the offense. When he’s not with me, he’s with Coach Mick (Marotti), and when he’s not with Coach Mick, he’s over there doing academics in SASSO. His days are pretty jam-packed.”
When asked if they’re looking for a fourth scholarship quarterback, Fessler replied, “That’s still in conversation; we’ll kind of see how it goes. Obviously, three is a little bit less than we typically have.” So, if that fourth guy does come in, freshman Tavien St. Clair is staring down some serious competition in the QB battle. Day’s plate was already overflowing with the QB conundrum—now, the transfer portal buzz is just throwing fuel on the fire.
The rising contender in Ryan Day’s QB battle
It’s Kienholz whose name is caught up in the transfer portal rumors. Analyst RJ Young revealed, “Lincoln Kienholz could be entering the transfer portal if he doesn’t feel like he’s going to get the shot to be the starter come August.” Well, the young chap already has the eyes of suitors on him. He had completed six of 17 passes vs. the Tigers for 86 yards and entered the 2024 campaign with 10 completions and 22 attempts for 111 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Young named the schools that might lure Kienholz away from Day. “I honestly look at him, and I say, dude, you could probably go torch someone if you just went to Tulane, Tulsa, or Boise State, for that matter, right? You keep going down the line on the Sacramento State with Brennan Marion (their head coach). There are places for him to go to show out. I don’t know that Ohio State is going to be that place.” Now, if not Kienholz, who can Day count on?
It’s likely to be second-year Julian Sayin. After all, he has won analyst Blake Ruffino’s heart with his effortless throws. “If you flip on the tape of all three of these guys, Julian’s going to start. Like the ba-l just is so easy coming out of his hand. For all the positive murmurs that have come out of Ohio State, just the ones we’ve heard about Jeremiah Smith, this feels like a no-brainer.” Looks like the Nick Saban factor might also come into play here. After all, Sayin was picked up by the GOAT himself in Alabama. Is a clear winner emerging, or will the other two quarterbacks stage a fierce spring game battle?
The post Ryan Day’s Assistant Coach Addresses OSU’s QB Dilemma With Strong Tavien St. Clair Verdict Amid Transfer Portal Rumors appeared first on EssentiallySports.
