Grading Ohio State: Was this an ideal Buckeyes' quarterback room?

Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz and Tavien St. Clair checked every QB box for Ohio State

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has thrown 31 touchdowns against six interceptions. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State)

COLUMBUS — We’ve written and talked about Julian Sayin a lot recently, but that’s what happens when a quarterback is a Heisman Trophy finalist.

So here comes more, as we move onto grading the Ohio State quarterback room.

What happened this year:

Sayin threw for 3,323 yards through 13 games, which is the sixth-most yards, for now, in an Ohio State season. His 255.6 yards per game ranks 21st in the nation and 11th among power conference quarterbacks. Sayin’s 31 touchdown passes are tied for second in the nation behind the 33 of Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

Sayin’s 78.4 percent completion percentage leads the country. According to PFF, he is completing 65.1 percent of his passes of 20 yards or more, which is nine percentage points better than any other power conference quarterback. He also has the second-lowest rate of turnover-worthy plays among power conference quarterbacks. That’s taking care of the ball.

Sayin finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, making it the seventh time an OSU QB finished in the top four.

Backup Lincoln Kienholz, whom I considered to be an ideal backup quarterback in this era, played just 62 snaps as Sayin rarely came off the field. He completed 11 of 14 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also ran it 11 times for 66 yards and was on occasion used in short-yardage situations in the Presidential Package. That happened most often in the 11th game against Rutgers. Could it come out again in the playoff?

In a year when five true freshmen started at least half the games for power conference teams, Tavien St. Clair, the No. 3 quarterback recruit in the Class of 2025, played 13 snaps as the No. 3 QB for the Buckeyes. Ryan Day wanted him to watch and learn — he was 0 for 2 passing.

That threesome — veteran backup, young star as the starter, high-ceiling true freshman learning and preparing to start down the line — seems to be exactly what you’d want for your quarterback room these days, when keeping skilled backups around is so difficult.

Rating previous Ohio State position groups