Ryan Day had the nerve to say that Tavien St. Clair was "one snap away" from getting the chance to play quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes after the Luke Fahey era started 0-2.
"Tavien's one snap away," Day said this week. "And that mentality has got to continue to be his mentality and continue to grow. And if we can continue to improve in practice and build enough trust within practice, and if we feel like he gives us the best chance to win, we'll make that move. We're not at that point right now."
Isn't any backup quarterback "one snap away" from being under center? Is that really a designation that holds any meaning? Certainly, it doesn't guarantee that St. Clair has gotten any closer to getting the nod after consecutive losses to the Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans.
It's a nothing statement from a head coach who's increasingly under the gun every time he speaks. Day has proven that he made the wrong choice with his backup quarterback after Julian Sayin's season-ending shoulder injury. If Sayin decides to go to the NFL, with his stock in a better place since Ohio State became a non-contender without him, what even comes next in Columbus?
Would it even be up to Day?
Ryan Day could cost himself his job if QB situation doesn't improve
There is a career-defining fork in the road coming for Day. He's already made the wrong choice at quarterback, even if Fahey is objectively not the only reason this team is losing; narratively, it comes off that way to the masses, and he can either double down or make two wrong choices.
Doubling down on Fahey and the final three weeks going awry is somehow the better option. Inserting St. Clair in for Fahey and getting the same results may well be his death knell.
St. Clair has the skill set to thrive in Arthur Smith's offensive system. He's not a run-first quarterback, but he has the ability to throw the ball on the move and evade a broken pocket. Against strong pass rushes, like the Ducks' this past weekend, Fahey was reduced to a checkdown merchant.
Maybe St. Clair could air it out. We'll never know until Day tries, but trying and failing would mean he had no backup plan for a Sayin injury.
This is the Ohio State University. You have to have a backup plan if a starter goes down. This is one of the only college football blue bloods that still gets to build depth like in the pre-NIL days because of its resources. If you can't even find a second quarterback, maybe leading the Scarlet and Gray isn't for you.
Day's fastball was always quarterbacks. If he doesn't have that anymore, what does he have? Brian Hartline was clearly the receiver whisperer, and the running back room may lose Bo Jackson and Isaiah West after Day called them out earlier this season.
Day better hope St. Clair is ready and actually is just "one snap away." If not, what is he here for?
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