Ohio State will be starting a quarterback other than Julian Sayin for the first time in two years. Sayin looks to be done for the rest of the season, so the Buckeyes have to turn to someone else. Luke Fahey finished the game against Indiana and looks to be the guy to start going forward.
However, Ryan Day left the door open for Tavien St. Clair to leapfrog him for the starting spot. The former five-star recruit has been the third-string quarterback all year. Despite that, St. Clair will be sharing first-team reps with Luke Fahey early in the bye week.
Ohio State quarerback situation isn't as settled as you might think
Day mentioned that both Fahey and St. Clair will be getting first-team reps, even if Fahey holds the lead for the starting job right now.
"Now that we have a bye week, both of these guys are going to get a lot of reps. We're going to start to put together a plan on how we're going to move forward. We're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win. We'll get both these guys some reps and get an idea of how these next couple of days go."
If St. Clair is ever going to have a chance to be the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, he needs to seize this opportunity. He has to show that he can be a better option than Luke Fahey. If he can't do it now, there's a strong chance he never starts in Columbus.
Sayin might return in 2027 now that he is hurt. If that happens, St. Clair certainly never gets a chance to start over him. Even if Sayin leaves and Fahey wins the job now, Fahey will still be above St. Clair on the depth chart next season. That would almost certainly mean he would transfer out.
Ohio State has to nail this quarterback decision
Day is under a lot of pressure to get this decision right. It's not hyperbole to say that his single decision could decide the fate of the entire season. A national championship could be at stake with this one call. If he makes the wrong call, things could go down the drain quickly.
I would be surprised if Fahey doesn't start against USC coming out of the bye week. He has been ahead of St. Clair on the depth chart all season long. It would be surprising if he all of a sudden jumped Fahey this week, barring a massive collapse from Fahey. Day said there isn't a massive gap between the two, however.
St. Clair has all of the physical tools to be great. However, Fahey has been mentally sharper. It wouldn't be shocking to me if Fahey gets pulled quickly for a bad performance, though. Day knows the pressure is extremely high to get this decision right.
Legend Bey failed to capitalize on the opportunity he was given against Indiana. If St. Clair doesn't want to be banished to the bench as he has been, he has to grab this opportunity by the horns and make it count.
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