Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes finally got the proverbial monkey off their backs. Their Natty triumph snaps a decade-long drought. Which may not feel like a lot, but try telling that to the fans of this blueblood. Coach Day’s finally been afforded some leverage and breathing room away from the hot seat. However, problems in Columbus seem to spawn quicker than Jeremiah Smith can run a route!
Getting Will Howard as a 1-year stopgap solution at QB via the transfer portal worked out brilliantly. However, his ascension to the NFL now leaves behind a void under center. Ryan Day isn’t in an enviable position with the conundrum he faces. His two opinions, Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz, are uber-talented. But they have a grand total of 0 starts between them at the collegiate level. Compare this to the experienced senior statesman, Howard, and there could be some real growing pains for this offense under new OC Brian Hartline. But that’s secondary. First, Coach Day and Coach Hartline need to come to a decision on who’s QB1. A decision they’ve been putting off.
Ryan Day cites the delay as an extension of them still evaluating Sayin and Kienholz. Spring camp was the first litmus test, and summer camp will be the next. He’s remained tight-lipped on the situation and maintained they’re “neck and neck.” But let’s address the elephant in the room. Nobody in Columbus or nationally really believes that to be the case. Former 5-star Julian Sayin, by all accounts, is QB1-elect unless something drastically changes. There’s a clear reason why Coach Day is maintaining ambiguity. It just needed calling out. Now, one CFB analyst has done just that. Seeing through the mirage, the trickery, the smoke screen that Ryan Day is projecting. A necessary evil for the greater good of the program, but a smoke screen nonetheless.
Former All-American TE Adam Breneman verbalized what every Buckeyes fan has been thinking. Over his namesake YouTube channel, Breneman said, “Ryan Day is lying to you. His quarterback battle at Ohio State is already over.” He proceeded to lay forth the rationale why he thinks so. As well as why Coach Day is “lying.” To nobody’s surprise, Breneman also reckons Julian Sayin is atop the depth chart. “Ryan Day is trying to keep all his quarterbacks on campus right now. Because if he names a starter right now, someone hits the portal tomorrow. This is Julian Sam’s team at Ohio State…But if Ryan Day says this out loud, Lincoln Kienholz is then probably gone. And you’re one injury away from starting a freshman in 2025,” remarked Adam Breneman. That freshman, for context, would be 5-star Tavien St. Clair. Who’s got the tools but needs time.
Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz shared an equal number of first-team reps in spring practice. It’s fair to assume they really were neck and neck heading into camp. But cream rises to the top, and reports reverberating out of Columbus have pointed towards Sayin creating some separation through those 15 practices. Alas, Breneman is right about the threat of losing Kienholz preventing Ryan Day from naming a starter at this juncture. That said, there is one more reason why he didn’t do so going into or in the midst of camp.
Ryan Day’s strategy comes at the expense of either Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz
On3’s J.D PicKell made a shrewd point about why it makes sense for Ryan Day to keep his players guessing who their quarterback is. Not just Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz, mind you. The entire roster. It helps vet out complacency. Something that can creep into a roster that just dominated their way through the CFP en route to the championship. Prior to the Buckeyes’ spring game/scrimmage, PicKell said, “When you have an intense quarterback battle like Ohio State does, coming off of a national championship, you’re trying to root out complacency…you’re trying to create some urgency for your team.” He proceeded to elaborate on how urgency all across the roster would actually help Ryan Day pick his quarterback.
“Having two dudes going back and forth, that’s going to raise the intensity level of the entire team. Because you don’t want to be the guy that drops that dime from Julian Sayin. Or misses the block where Lincoln Kienholz could have made a big play downfield [and] hurt him in the quarterback race,” he said. The team has a responsibility to give both contenders equal effort. Which automatically raises the ante on intensity and eliminates complacency from the equation. Genius. No wonder Coach Day hasn’t announced his starter. The longer this battle carries on, the better it is for his team in their effort to defend the championship. But there’s a problem on the other end of the bargain,
Coach Day taking time over announcing his QB goes back to CJ Stroud. Even Will Howard, who literally came through the portal because he’d be the starter, didn’t get announced in spring. The reasons in favor of this strategy are clear and justifiable. But it does leave the eventual loser in the race hanging out to dry. Kienholz can be a starter somewhere, but might lose a year of eligibility sitting behind Sayin. The coaches don’t want that, but they’ve got to look out for the team as a collective first and foremost. It’s a cut-throat world.
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