Ohio State football kept all 5 quarterbacks, making me very wrong: Oller Second Thoughts
Anyone who listens to The Dispatch’s BuckeyeXtra Football Podcast – shameless plug – knows I don’t like to be wrong. Who does?
So I am displeased, because I was wrong. I predicted on April 16, five days after the Ohio State spring game, that at least one OSU quarterback would leave the program within a few weeks. None did.
Making matters worse, podcast co-host Joey Kaufman was right, which means I have to listen to an Ohio State beat guy remind me all summer that his prediction was more accurate than mine.
Kaufman predicted that Will Howard, Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz, Air Noland and Julian Sayin would still be on the roster for the season opener against Akron. I countered that as many as two of the QBs would exit.
I was wrong. Grrr.
I’m guessing a lot of you were wrong, too. I mean, everyone transfers these days, with QBs leading the list. It’s a simple numbers game based on position. Unlike running back or wide receiver, only one quarterback gets to touch the ball. The others hold clipboards or help signal in plays. That’s fine in the NFL. Not in college, when QBs are trying to make it to the NFL, where more than half of them will hold clipboards.
When the football transfer portal closed Tuesday, and all five quarterbacks remained Buckeyes, I retraced Kaufman’s steps to see where I went wrong and he got it right (Note: third co-host Bill Rabinowitz offered no prediction, but said he would not be surprised if one or two QBs left).
Granted, Kaufman took the low-risk approach to the transfer guessing game; by making an unconventional prediction he would look especially smart if no QB left. But he also employed logic. To wit: only Howard is on a pressing timeline to start, having transferred in as a graduate student with one season of eligibility remaining.
The other four may hear the eligibility clock ticking, but the alarm is at least one season away. Brown, a redshirt sophomore, has three years of eligibility remaining, while Kienholz, a redshirt freshman, has four seasons. True freshmen Noland and Sayin also have four seasons remaining.
All four are itching to start, but the freshmen can spend this season learning under coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, then reevaluate their statuses when the transfer window reopens Dec. 4. By then, everyone’s situation should be more clear. And December also is when other teams go shopping for quarterbacks.
Given that the starting job in 2024 remains up in the air, it was unlikely Brown would have entered the portal – he has been adamant that he is not leaving – knowing he could still get the nod ahead of Howard. Even if Howard is named the Game 1 starter, as I would expect, Brown would be only one play away from getting into a game.
I thought Kienholz was the most likely candidate to leave, followed by Noland and Sayin, who coaches raved about during spring practices.
Beyond Kaufman’s solid reasoning, two other scenarios make sense why four of the five QBs stayed. First, all can see themselves starting in 2025. Second, money from name, image and likeness was a) enough from OSU to keep them in place; or b) not lucrative enough from other suitors. That could change in December, when other schools open their bank vaults, knowing more about what they need at quarterback.
So here’s my new prediction: At least one quarterback will leave the brotherhood before the next transfer portal window closes Jan. 2. I can’t be wrong twice, can I?
Praise Olatoke gets NFL tryout with Eagles
Former Ohio State sprinter Praise Olatoke has been invited to the Philadelphia Eagles' rookie minicamp, which runs May 3-4.
Olatoke, who was born in Nigeria and grew up in Scotland, hopes to make the team as a 6-foot-2, 200-pound wide receiver or special teams player. He caught the Eagles’ attention at the International Player Pathway program pro day in Florida, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds. The IPP program creates one roster spot for international athletes.
Olatoke ran track for the Buckeyes for two years, then played for the Ohio State Football Club, which is full-contact, 11-on-11 football played by OSU students.
Listening in
“I drove it one time.” – Jack Nicklaus, referring to the 416-yard third hole at Raymond Memorial Golf Course, where he played a few times as a kid when he wasn’t honing his skills at Scioto Country Club.
Off-topic
I live off West Broad Street, which doubles as a tire minefield because of all the manhole covers that dip below the surface of the pavement. Is it asking too much to level things off when paving the street? Apparently it is. I mean, Mr. Mayor, take 20 minutes and drive up and down Broad and tell me your teeth did not chatter from the bumping along the way. Help, please.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football keeps all 5 quarterbacks, including three freshmen
