COLUMBUS — What now? Bill and I shared our thoughts in a live YouTube show Tuesday night on what we think happens next with Ohio State’s quarterbacks. An encapsulation of my thoughts on the Ohio State quarterback situation would be:
I’m glad Ryan Day said Luke Fahey and Tavien St. Clair will compete for the job for at least a few days. There doesn’t seem to be a downside to that. The competition has a chance to bring out the best in both of them, and not giving St. Clair at least a look right now would be a mistake, I think.
I think Fahey will wind up being the starter against USC. He was No. 2 for a reason, and I think Day and the staff like everything about him, while wishing he was a little bigger (he’s listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds.)
It’s not that St. Clair can’t do this. It’s that he hasn’t shown it yet. The circumstances have changed. Maybe St. Clair figured he was a shoo-in to hold off a journeyman veteran (Justyn Martin) and a true freshman for the No. 2 job. Maybe there wasn’t an urgency to his performance previously. This is as urgent as it gets. Maybe it brings something out of him. Big maybe. Very big.
It’s the question I asked of Day and his answer confirmed it in my mind. If the situation was filling in for Sayin for a few weeks, it’s Fahey. If it’s playing QB for the rest of the year, you need to give the upside guy, St. Clair, a look. While Day said they have a plan for Sayin to either miss the regular season or to miss the entire season, playoff included, operating under the assumption that Sayin won’t play again until the 2027 season feels reasonable.
Ohio State is looking for a national title quarterback.
I think Ohio State can find a way through this. I also think there will be a bump. A real clunker of a QB performance in the first game or two wouldn’t be a shock. I’d also put down my prediction for the regular season at 10-2 at the moment.
Here’s the show from Tuesday night if you missed it.
Now, some questions for you.
Our worries prior to Sayin injury: Lack of pass rush. Offensive line concerns. Run game not explosive. Take that, and add in, young, inexperienced, small qb, as well as, a couple more injuries. Just not sure we can overcome all of that.
Sayin played his worst game as a Buckeye and we beat Indy. If Fahey/St Clair's best is as good as Sayin's worst, we'll be OK.