It’s going to be tough for the Ohio State Buckeyes to replace Will Howard in 2025. He came into Columbus as a transfer quarterback from Kansas State and proved to be the exact super-senior that OSU needed to make a College Football Playoff run.
Howard led the Buckeyes to a CFP Championship win over Notre Dame and threw for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns compared to two interceptions in the team’s now legendary four-game CFP stretch.
He’ll now try his luck in the NFL, but in the meantime, head coach Ryan Day and the Buckeyes will have the tough task of finding the next QB1 in Columbus.
There have been, of course, plenty of great quarterbacks to come through the Ohio State program, so a drop-off in talent shouldn’t be expected. Anything can happen between now and OSU’s 2025 season opener against Texas. But for now, there will be three quarterbacks competing for the starting job.
The contenders include redshirt sophomore Lincoln Kienholz, former 5-star redshirt freshman Julian Sayin, and incoming 5-star freshman Tavien St. Clair, who signed with OSU this past December and has early-enrolled on campus.
That’s two young 5-stars and Kienholz (a former 4-star recruit who has been in the program since 2023), so Day does have a tough decision on his hands. Again, anything can happen through the course of spring ball and fall camp. But at the very least, Day is expecting some big things out of his quarterback room in 2025. However it shakes out, he believes it’s going to be intense.
“It’ll be a very fierce competition. Lincoln and Julian and then, Tavien. We’re excited to see those guys compete,” Day told WBNS-10TV on Wednesday. “We’ll chart everything and everything will be a competition.”
The expectation coming into spring is that Kienholz and Sayin will be ahead of the incoming freshman, but that’s not to count St. Clair out.
He was ranked as the No. 3 quarterback and No. 7 overall recruit in the 2025 class, according to the industry-generated 247Sports Composite. He threw for 2,536 yards and 29 touchdowns with just four interceptions as a senior at Bellefontaine High School (Ohio) to go along with nine rushing touchdowns.
MORE: Philadelphia Eagles Projected to Trade for Ohio State Buckeyes Star
MORE: Ohio State Buckeyes Hire Matt Patricia for Defensive Coordinator
MORE: Former Ohio State Buckeyes QB, Captain Has Passed Away
MORE: Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan Rivalry Receives Strong Take from Analyst
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
