Oller: Which Ohio State quarterback wins starting seat in game of musical chairs?
Ryan Day is not messing around. If you play quarterback and are good at it, the Ohio State coach probably has his eye on you.
You’ve heard of addition by subtraction. Well, what’s happening inside the Buckeyes quarterback room is multiplication by subtraction:
Kyle McCord to Syracuse x Will Howard, Air Noland and Julian Sayin to OSU = net positive.
The challenge for new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien will be making sure the multiplication doesn’t lead to division. Maintaining QB room unity could prove challenging with five quarterbacks realistically competing for the starting job, although the number likely drops to four – and maybe three – when the transfer portal reopens after spring practices end in April.
A quick rundown of the starting candidates, in predicted order of finish:
Will Howard
After four seasons at Kansas State, where he started 27 games, the senior brings by far the most experience of any QB candidate, though not in OSU’s offensive scheme. But the 22-year-old has all spring to get up to speed and benefits from O’Brien’s arrival, which levels the playing field. A new offensive coordinator, if not entirely new system, means Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz lose some of the advantage they had by having spent time running Day’s offense. Howard also is the most mobile of the three non-incoming freshmen. Being able to escape pressure and keep plays alive is crucial to success against the best defenses.
Devin Brown
Not super confident with this No. 2 placement. Brown may end up being lower than No. 2. It’s hard to predict, because his body of work is so small, having backed up McCord then missing the last three quarters of the Cotton Bowl after injuring an ankle. Spending two seasons learning the offense is a plus, but how much 2024 resembles Day’s offense remains to be seen. It’s O’Brien’s show now. Brown is more mobile than McCord was, but it’s a low bar.
Recall that Brown was ahead of McCord at one point during the 2023 preseason but ultimately made too many mistakes late in the competition and fell behind. Two ways to look at that. Positively, Brown may be just as good as McCord. Negatively, Brown may be just as good as McCord.
Air Noland
By a hair over Sayin. Not a lot to go on, besides high school statistics, which are impressive for both five-stars. Noland, who is enrolled in spring semester, ranked as the No. 4 overall quarterback in 247Sports’ composite rankings. Sayin, who plans to enroll ASAP after transferring from Alabama, is the No. 1 QB and fifth-ranked player overall.
Ohio State football: Air Noland: Julian Sayin 'will definitely make the QB room better'
Noland, 6 feet 2, 195 pounds, is not a true dual-threat quarterback, but like C.J. Stroud can run when needed (Stroud seldom needed to, until the Georgia game. Noland and Sayin won’t have that luxury).
Noland completed 66.5% of his 224 pass attempts for 2,140 yards, throwing 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a senior, according to MaxPreps. He also added one rushing touchdown.
Sayin’s numbers: 2,369 yards, 24 touchdowns and one interception. He added four rushing touchdowns.
I’m giving Noland the nod simply because the way Day gushed about him last month at the Cotton Bowl.
“Air Noland is somebody who is special in a lot of different ways,” Day said. “The way that he conducts himself, the way that he handles himself. He’s very athletic and he’s going to be the leader of this team.”
Day’s comments came before Sayin, who originally signed with Alabama in the 2024 class, entered the portal and chose the Buckeyes. Make of them what you will. But saying Noland would be the leader, not just a leader, speaks to how impressed Day is with the true freshman’s intangibles. All things being equal, locker room presence matters.
Julian Sayin
Though his physical stature won’t blow you away (6-1, 190), Sayin is considered the most accurate passer coming out of high school. He owns a lightning-quick release, hits receivers in stride and throws an above-average deep ball. Importantly, Sayin throws extremely well on the run, something the Buckeyes lacked with McCord. The freshman draws comparisons to former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones in that both excelled in super structured high school offenses, with Jones building on that success with the Crimson Tide.
Lincoln Kienholz
The freshman was put in a tough spot during the Cotton Bowl, having to step in early when Brown injured an ankle. It wasn’t pretty ... and it doesn’t matter if it was unfair to Kienholz. The window to prove yourself at Ohio State remains cracked for only a moment, especially with Noland and Sayin riding into town on white horses.
Kienholz is probably more athletic than any of the QBs, but unless he flashes this spring, which is possible, it feels like he is the odd man out.
Where things get interesting is with Brown’s status. If he fails to win the starting job in spring, yet senses he is no better off than Noland and Sayin? Day probably isn’t comfortable starting either freshman in 2024, unless forced to due to injury or Howard becoming a huge disappointment. But 2025 is a different story. Does Brown stick around if he sees himself even with or behind the newbies exiting the April 13 spring game? The portal opens April 15 and closes April 30. Brown, who has been snakebit by injuries just when it appeared he would get a chance to show off his talents, has insisted he is sticking with the Buckeyes, but who could blame him if he transferred if he sees the writing on the wall?
No matter how the competition plays out, the quarterbacks will say the right things. Noland already told The Dispatch, “We’re excited to have (Sayin) a part of the brotherhood. He will definitely make the QB room better than what it is now.”
The Brotherhood is one thing, and having too many QBs is better than having too few, but male siblings know all too well that brotherly love includes a lot of shoves when competition heats up and a starting job is on the line.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football faces uncertainty at loaded quarterback position
