Ryan Day bid farewell to 2024 starting quarterback Will Howard in this year’s draft. After helping the team win a national championship, Howard was drafted in the sixth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thus, the Ohio State Buckeyes have yet to finalize Howard’s replacement for the upcoming season.
So far, the starting quarterback job in Columbus has been a three-way race between Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and five-star freshman Tavien St. Clair. On Friday, Ryan Day made an appearance on the College GameDay podcast alongside hosts Rece Davis and Pete Thamel.
Day was questioned whether he had finalized a starting quarterback for the upcoming season. The Ohio State head coach came forward with a diplomatic answer while maintaining the air of mystery behind Will Howard’s potential successor.
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“It’s going to be a new year,” Howard said. “And I feel like, you know, there’s only been a couple times I’ve been here we’ve had this conversation. We have an incumbent coming in. Other than CJ (Stroud) and Justin (Fields) in year two, it’s been the same way. So, we’re in that same process of looking to figure out who that’s gonna be.” (TS- 43:10 onwards)
The Ohio State head coach gave a hint about how the quarterback competition has been progressing over the offseason. According to him, it is now a two-way race between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz.
Tavien St. Clair is expected to learn the game during his freshman campaign under the presence of two quarterbacks who already have experience playing at the collegiate level.
Josh Pate makes prediction about Ryan Day’s QB1 in 2025
On April 1, analyst Josh Pate shared his thoughts on the quarterback competition at Ohio State. He gave his vote of confidence to Julian Sayin to be the QB1 of the team for the 2025 campaign.
Pate further predicted that fans will get to witness a clash between Arch Manning and Julian Sayin during the Buckeyes’ season opener against the Texas Longhorns.
“You got Arch Manning vs Julian Sayin,” Pate said on his eponymous show. “We’re calling that now. I’m calling the Ohio State quarterback race for Sayin. I’m doing it. No one else. Not Ryan Day. We did not consult with him for this but I think that’s what the quarterback matchup will be.” (TS-0:30 onwards)
Pate highlighted how he views the Texas vs Ohio State game as a rematch of the 2024 playoffs. The Longhorns lost to the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl CFP semifinal game, ending their hopes of winning a national championship.
Can they redeem themselves with a victory against Ryan Day’s team to start their 2025 campaign?
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Edited by Dipayan Moitra
