The Buckeyes' starting quarterback competition between Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin remains tight entering preseason training camp.
LAS VEGAS — Ohio State football coach Ryan Day continues to see the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback competition between Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin as neck and neck.
During his opening address at Big Ten media days on July 22, Day said the passers had stood out this summer for assuming leadership roles throwing with the wide receivers.
“I ask those guys all the time,” Day said, “and they like both of them.”
Following the end of spring practice, Day described the high-profile position battle to replace Will Howard as a tight two-man race between Kienholz and Sayin. Both have spent at least a year with the program, while Tavien St. Clair is a freshman who had only enrolled in January.
Ahead of preseason training camp, which begins on July 31, Day said, “It’ll be a fierce competition to see who the starter is.”
Despite their experience with the Buckeyes, neither Kienholz, a redshirt sophomore, nor Sayin, a redshirt freshman, has seen significant snaps in a game.
The most extensive time behind center was for Kienholz in the Cotton Bowl in 2023 when he replaced Devin Brown due to his ankle sprain. Kienholz, then only a freshman, completed six of 17 passes for 86 yards. He did not attempt a pass last season.
Sayin, who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama last year, complete five of 12 passes for 84 yards while in mop-up duty as the Buckeyes’ third-string quarterback in 2024.
Day pointed to live situations in preseason practices as potential ground for settling the competition between the quarterbacks.
“We’re going to put them in as many competitive situations as we possibly can to figure out who handles that the best,” Day said, “because we have to be on point in Week 1. We can’t be messing around.”
Day needed not to mention the Buckeyes’ opening opponent. Texas visits Ohio Stadium on Labor Day weekend in one of the most anticipated matchups of the upcoming season.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Ryan Day views Ohio State football quarterback competition
Category: General Sports
