Ryan Day pressed to evaluate Ohio State quarterbacks on first day of fall camp

The Ohio State Buckeyes are looking to defend their national championship in 2025. However, like many teams following a championship, the Buckeyes are dealing with plenty of turnover. That includes the quarterback position.

Fall Camp is underway for the Buckeyes, and so is a quarterback battle. Head coach Ryan Day was pressed about where that competition stands, but with it happening so recently, Day didn’t want to share too much of an update on that race.

“I wish I could,” Day said. “You know, it’s just a start. We’re just getting moving around. So hard to tell. I do think all three of them look a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive, moving better. A little bit better command of the huddle, but we’ll watch the film and kind of go from there.”

Ohio State returns Julian Sayin, a five-star recruit from the Class of 2024. Last season, he’d play in four games, retaining his redshirt. In that limited playing time, he completed five of 12 pass attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown. He’s competing largely with Lincoln Kienholz for the starting job. Kienholz is a four-star recruit from the Class of 2023. In his time with the Buckeyes, he’s appeared in five games and completed 10 of 22 pass attempts for 111 yards.

“Day one without pads is kind of hard. So, we’ll have a better feel here,” Day said. “Give me a couple, four or five days to get a better idea.”

Ohio State lists a total of seven quarterbacks on its roster. However, prior to the start of Fall Camp, Ryan Day made it clear that this is going to be a two-horse race for the starting job between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. That’s despite five-star freshman Tavien St. Clair now joining the team.

“But guys have taken leadership roles,” Day previously said. “They’ve been throwing with the wide receivers. I ask those guys all the time, and they like both of them. We’re going to put them in as many competitive situations as we possibly can to figure out who handles that the best because we’ve got to be on point Week 1. We can’t be messing around. I know that we’ll need all of those guys in that room this year.”

Ohio State needs to figure out the quarterback position quickly. The Buckeyes open the season hosting the Texas Longhorns, pitting two teams who faced off in the College Football Playoff last season against one another. So, there’s no easing into the 2025 season.