The Ohio State football team will be led by Julian Sayin as the starting quarterback this year. Ryan Day made the announcement on Monday morning, choosing Sayin over Lincoln Kienholz for the starting job. Now, Kienholz will be a backup quarterback once again.
Sayin is now set up to be the starting quarterback for the next couple of years. Behind him, Tavien St. Clair, the number-two overall recruit in the 2025 recruiting class, and incoming freshman Brady Edmunds await. Kienholz is suddenly looking like the odd man out in the quarterback room.
Kienholz was a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He is now a junior with no real hope of starting for the Ohio State Buckeyes in either of the next two years. His future is now murkier than ever, and he might not be back in Columbus next season.
Ohio State football player Lincoln Kienholz might decide to transfer after this season
If Kienholz wants to have any hope of seeing real playing time as a starter, he is going to have to switch programs. Kienholz is likely going to have to transfer following the 2025 season if he wants to have a chance of leading a program. He's not going to start for the Buckeyes.
Kienholz clearly thought he still had a chance to win the starting job after Spring practice. Otherwise, he would have entered the Transfer Portal and left for a school that would have given him a better chance to win the job. Unfortunately, he will now be the backup.
Day has not shut the door on having a package in which Kienholz comes in. Any package like that would likely include him running the ball, sort of like what the Buckeyes had when Tate Martell was on the roster. That package was a disaster, though, so Day needs to make sure that doesn't repeat itself.
This is the only positional battle for which Day has announced the winner. He refused to name the starting five offensive linemen or the starting running back, even though he told the media he knows who those players will be. Kienholz is the only confirmed backup who lost out on a job.
The Buckeyes feel comfortable with Sayin leading the team coming off a national championship. Now, Kienholz has to figure out what is going to be best for his future following this year. He still could decide to stay and be a backup, too.