You could feel it in the air around Columbus—a weird mix of swagger and worry. Ryan Day just pulled off the unthinkable: turned a flaming hot-seat into a national title run. But the champagne hadn’t even dried on the confetti when folks started asking, ‘Yo… who’s playing QB next year?’ That question didn’t come from fear. Nah, Buckeyes fans are built different. It came from that old Ohio State standard: Natty or nothing. And right now, one position has the whole fanbase biting their nails like it’s 4th and goal.
Will Howard? He’s gone. Packed his bags for the NFL. And what he left behind is not a disaster—but it isn’t a guarantee either. When you’re Ohio State, being okay at QB isn’t enough. Look, when it comes to QB, Ohio State isn’t just QB-U; they’re a straight-up quarterback factory for the pro league. For the past couple of decades, it’s been one high-level signal-caller after another. Troy Smith laid the groundwork. Dwayne Haskins broke records. Justin Fields made defenders look silly with both his arm and legs, and C.J Stroud did his thing, and finally Will Howard did enough and won Natty, all thanks to Ohio State’s pound-for-pound No.1 squad.
And now it’s Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and Tavien St. Clair stepping into that pressure cooker. Let’s be honest, they might all be chefs someday—but today, the kitchen’s still hot. On April 19, the crew over at ‘Ohio State Football at Buckeye Huddle’—Tom Orr and Tony Gerdeman—put a spotlight on what’s becoming THE convo in Columbus: Who’s steering the ship in 2025? Tony didn’t sugarcoat it. “I would have no issue with somebody saying quarterback is the biggest question mark,” he said.
Still, there’s a twist. Tom doubled down with a little history lesson: “The floor for a Ryan Day quarterback has been Kyle McCord in 2023. Where he was perfectly fine. He wasn’t amazing. He wasn’t C.J. Stroud. He wasn’t Justin Fields. But he was fine.” That’s the real talk. Kyle McCord wasn’t the hero, but he didn’t lose games either. And guess what? They still went 11-2. They still almost made the playoffs. That’s the floor. And in Columbus? That floor is higher than most programs’ ceilings.
Let’s rewind to that McCord season. The man walked into the lion’s den with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in his huddle. He threw for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns, just six picks. That’s solid. Real solid. But fans weren’t low-key sold. He didn’t make plays outside the script. He wasn’t a threat on the ground. When the lights got brightest—in Ann Arbor—he folded. Two picks, including a backbreaker late. That’s when Ohio State knew: this ain’t our guy for the future.
But you know what? Even that version of McCord, the “meh” QB, nearly took them to the playoff. So when Tom Orr says, “This is not going to be a 2011 ‘Oh boy, it’s Joe Bauserman or true freshman Braxton Miller’ situation.” He ain’t lying. That season, Ohio State went 6-7 in a chaotic mess with Joe Bauserman and true freshman Braxton Miller trying to run the show. But as Tom points out, this isn’t that. This year’s team is way more stable. Tom’s final point hits home: until a Ryan Day quarterback actually flops, there’s no reason to expect it to happen. It’s a high-class problem: young, talented QBs with no war stories—yet. But trust, the toolbox is there. The guy who wins the job is stepping into the fastest car in college football. All they have to do is not crash it.
And make no mistake—Ryan Day’s earned that benefit of the doubt. Since taking over the QB room, every single one of his starters has posted video-game numbers. Haskins? Broke records. Fields? Almost snatched a Heisman. Stroud? Ice-cold under pressure and made the playoffs twice. Even McCord—who wasn’t the dawg OSU needed—was still cooking enough to win double-digit games. It’s like buying sneakers from a brand that never drops a bad pair—you just trust the fit.
Ryan Day faces Julian Sayin dilemma?
When Julian Sayin jogged out for the spring game, it wasn’t just fans in the Shoe watching. It was coaches, media, alumni, and every QB whisperer in the Midwest. Sayin, the Cali kid with five-star sauce, had to show he wasn’t just a flashy recruit—he was that guy. The moment? Big. The expectations? Even bigger. And he delivered… kinda. Looked solid. Threw some darts. Managed the offense. But did he grab the job and slam the door shut? Not quite.
See, Ryan Day ain’t looking for ‘pretty good.’ He’s looking for ‘lead us to a natty’ energy. That spring game? It was a sneak peek, not a season finale. And the fact that Sayin didn’t leave zero doubt means Lincoln Kienholz is still in this thing. Don’t sleep on Kienholz. Word out of practice is that he is making real noise. The locker room sees it too—these boys are feeding off this QB competition like it’s a buffet before a bowl game.
J.D. PicKell spelled it out plain and simple: “Julian Sayin is your guy game one; that means he was consistently who you saw in the spring game during practice in the fall to win the job.” But if he’s not the guy? That doesn’t mean he’s a bust—it means Kienholz earned it. “More power to Lincoln Kienholz because he was probably balling all fall camp to take that job,” PicKell added. This is steel sharpening steel. Iron on iron. And Day’s letting them duke it out until one grabs it by the throat.
What’s brewing in Columbus isn’t chaos—it’s clarity, slowly forming. This QB derby has turned up the intensity across the whole roster. Wide receivers are running crisper routes. DBs are not letting up on 7-on-7s. Tight ends like Max Klare are making themselves known. That man ate during the spring game. The result? A squad that’s war-ready—except for one spot. The most important spot.
Sayin showed he can ball. But can he be the baller? Can he stare down Michigan in November and not blink? Can he lead a Playoff comeback? Those are the bars in Columbus. Anything less, and the noise gets loud. But if Sayin isn’t the guy, the Buckeyes feel good about their Plan B being right there. So here’s where it lands: even if it’s not wrapped up now, this QB room is deeper and more prepared than most programs ever dream of. Ryan Day doesn’t need a superstar in Week 1. He just needs someone to hit that McCord-level floor… and then climb. Because in Columbus? That’s how banners get hung.
Let the rest of the country talk about their “QB battles.” At Ohio State, this ain’t no battle. It’s a proving ground. One way or another, somebody is stepping up. And when they do? The rest of college football better brace for impact. Because whether it’s Sayin, Kienholz, or the next name up, we already know the machine’s built. It just needs a driver. And this time, the road is looking like it ends in another natty run.
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