COLUMBUS, Ohio — Lincoln Kienholz took his best shot at becoming Ohio State’s starting quarterback, doing everything he was asked to do since the moment he signed as its 2023 quarterback recruit.
He knew his first two years would be more about development than playing time, even if that plan got sidetracked in the 2023 Cotton Bowl thanks to Kyle McCord’s departure and Devin Brown getting hurt in the first half. He knew that Year 3 was when he’d finally had that opportunity to show all the patience waiting was worth it.
But just as was the case 12 months ago with Brown, the writing was probably always on the wall that Columbus would probably be his first stop, but not his last as a college football player.
Julian Sayin was always destined to be the Buckeyes’ next starter the moment he transferred in from Alabama and quickly turned heads as a true freshman. Kienholz’s role all offseason was to be the reason that the quarterback room was maximized. Was there a chance that would mean he surpassed the guy everyone expected was next? Sure, and he spent the spring doing his best to make that possible because he was actually the better guy when the public got to see them. It was just never sustainable because at some point, the guy who’s gone on to be a Heisman Trophy finalist would separate.
The next step for Kienholz is finding a place to get on the field. His skillset suggests he can do so, and maybe even at a Big Ten school, because there’s value in the three years he spent developing under Ryan Day, who once compared this battle to the one Dwayne Haskins and Joe Burrow had in 2018. Maybe things will end like that one, too, where both sides end up getting where they want to go.
In the meantime, OSU now looks forward. Sayin will join Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud as multi-year starters under Day. But eyes also turn to his new full-time understudy.
Tavien St. Clair’s year of figuring out the basics is officially over. He’ll spend every Saturday next fall being one play away from being the most important person on the roster. Then he’ll blink again, all of a sudden, he’ll potentially find himself in the same shoes that Kienholz and Brown were once in, having spent two years learning before being ready to battle in Year 3. Unlike those two, he’ll be expected to win that battle.
