Developed Here … Ohio State Quarterbacks
8/5/2025 3:18:00 PM | Football
Three young, scholarship QBs have recent histories of success to emulate
COLUMBUS, Ohio – "Developed here" is a brand established about 10 years ago by Ohio State football that recognizes and efficiently articulates the process of student-athletes being developed to be the best possible version of themselves. The transformation includes a comprehensive array of resources known as the "circle of care," a term now ubiquitous within the Ohio State Athletics Department and includes areas to guide and develop student-athletes such as expert coaching, sports performance, mental health, sports medicine, academics, community service, internships, nutrition, leadership, media relations and NIL.
Quarterback play at Ohio State has been a shining example of the "developed here" culture at Ohio State. Since 2017, when Ryan Day joined the program as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator, Ohio State quarterbacks have developed at a rate unmatched by any other Big Ten Conference team and at a rate difficult for any team on a national level to exceed. Consider, since 2017:
§ Three Ohio State quarterbacks – Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud (twice) – have been invited four times to New York City as Heisman Trophy finalists. No school has produced more Heisman Trophy finalists at quarterback than Ohio State in this eight-year span.
§ Buckeye quarterbacks have been named the Big Ten's Graham George Offensive Player of the Year five times.
§ The Big Ten's Griese-Breese Quarterback of the Year award has been presented six times to Buckeyes.
§ Ohio State quarterbacks have won two Chicago Football Silver Football awards, presented annually to the outstanding player in the Big Ten.
§ Buckeyes have led the Big Ten in passing in six of the last seven seasons.
And the good news is that all of these achievements, honors and accomplishments except one – Will Howard leading the Big Ten in passing in 2024 – were earned by players with, at most, three years of collegiate quarterback play. Youth is couth at Ohio State.
Development and education and intelligent quarterback play happens under Day and his quarterback coaches and assistants. Their developed here expertise will be on full display in 2025.
Day and first-year quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler have three scholarship quarterbacks to work with in junior Lincoln Kienholz, sophomore Julian Sayin and true freshman Tavien St. Clair. Their experience is limited.
The two veterans, if one can call second- and third-year players veterans, have combined to complete 14-of-34 passes for 195 yards and one TD at the collegiate level. Kienholz is 11-of-22 for 111 yards with virtually all those stats coming in the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Missouri. Sayin was 5-of-12 for 84 yards and one TD in four appearances last year as a Buckeye. Kienholz did not see any action in 2024.
Limited on experience or not, quarterbacks at Ohio State have not only been developed and have thrived, but they've also starred.
Here's to more of the same in 2025, and to the belief that Ohio State's recent quarterback past can forecast success for the team's quarterbacks of the future.
QB Interview Day
Ryan Day, Billy Fessler and all three scholarship quarterbacks met with the media after practice Tuesday, the fifth of 25 prior to the season opener Aug. 30 against Texas at Ohio Stadium. Some Day quotes:
§ On the competition between Sayin and Kienholz: "They've both had good moments and moments where they've grown. The competition continues."
§ He said he was "pleased" with both players' progress, "happy" with their growth and there is"no leader" for the starting position right now.
Buckeye Notes – Tuesday, Aug. 5
§ Sophomore DT Eddrick Houston, who limped off the field on Thursday of last week, is practicing on a limited basis and Day believes he'll be back within the next couple of days.
§ The Sporting News preseason All-America team has been released. SAF Caleb Downs and WR Jeremiah Smith are each on the first team while LB Sonny Styles and WR Carnell Tate are each second-team mentions.
§ LS John Ferlmann has been named to the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list. Ferlmann is coming off an error-free snapping season in 2024 with 142 flawless snaps.
§ RB C.J. Donaldson, a transfer portal addition from West Virginia University, has been named to the Doak Walker Award watch list. Donaldson has 1,690 career rushing yards and has scored 23 touchdowns.
§ True freshmen LB Riley Pettijohn and TE Nate Roberts are the first to have their black stripes removed this fall camp.
§ Ohio State is ranked No. 2 in the initial US LBM Coaches Poll. This is the 61st consecutive coaches' poll that Ohio State has been ranked in the Top 10, dating to the Week 4 poll of 2021.
§ Ryan Day has coached 80 games at Ohio State. His teams have been ranked in the Top 10 for 78 of those games.
