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Ohio State QB battle: Diagnosing why Ryan Day hasn't named starter

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp08/18/25

As Ohio State gears up to defend its 2024 national title it still has one major question to answer. Who will the team’s starter at quarterback be?

The odds-on favorite to win the job is Julian Sayin, but Lincoln Kienholz remains firmly in the mix. The Buckeyes have yet to name a starter.

College football analyst Josh Pate is traveling the country and speaking to sources during fall camp. And he delivered what he believes is the latest in the ongoing saga around the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback job.

“Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz at Ohio State,” Pate said Sunday night on Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “I still maintain that I think it’s going to be Julian Sayin, but again, got to win the job.”

Sayin has limited experience so far, but then again so does Kienholz. While Kienholz went 10-of-22 passing for 111 yards in 2023, Sayin went 5-of-12 for 84 yards and a touchdown in 2024.

Pate has some ideas about why the Ohio State staff hasn’t yet named a starting quarterback. He broke that down on his show.

“Now there are theories out there that Ryan Day knows who’s going to start and he just is toying with the media and the fanbase,” Pate said. “And I have a different theory on that. I think many times there’s a guy who the coaches feel will win the job.

“I think this coaching staff has believed since spring that Julian Sayin will win this job. I think they believe he’ll win the job today. … He’s got to win the job. So it’s not disingenuous if you’re in that position to not have named the starter yet. Doesn’t matter if you thought the same guy’s going to win it since January.”

In other words, Sayin has to make it abundantly clear to the coaches that he’s the man for the job. He likely hasn’t done that just yet, according to Pate.

Thus no starting quarterback. Pate summed it up.

“He’s got to win it,” he said. “And if he hasn’t won it yet, you don’t make an announcement for the sake of aesthetics. You don’t do that. Even if you open against Texas you don’t do that.”