Ryan Day broke down some of the positives and negatives of an ongoing battle at quarterback, rather than having an entrenched starter.
Ohio State must find a new starting quarterback before the season begins. But there appears to be very little panic in the ranks for the Buckeyes right now in fall camp despite an ongoing position battle.
Coach Ryan Day has presented a composed front when meeting with the media. It’s clear he likes the options he’s got, even if returning a starter might conventionally be the more preferred scenario.
“I think there’s positives and negatives to everything,” Day said. “I think you can look at it that way. There’s positives, I guess, to having an incumbent.”
Yet Ohio State did not have an incumbent starter a year ago when it won the national title. Then, Kansas State transfer Will Howard arrived to take the reins from the departed Kyle McCord. There wasn’t necessarily the kind of battle that’s going on this year.
Yet it went exceptionally well. Having Howard back would have been nice, but that’s not the reality for Ohio State. That’s not to say things are all bad, though.
“The positives of having a competition is that every day you’ve got to bring it,” Day said. “And every day you’ve got to put your best guys out there to figure out who’s making progress and who isn’t.”
To date, Julian Sayin has been in a tight battle with Lincoln Kienholz for the starting gig. Freshman Tavien St. Clair is also in the mix.
Day broke down the primary advantage to the ongoing battle in fall camp, as opposed to already being settled on a starter. And it’s got some merit.
“Guys are always on edge, they’re uncomfortable, they’re working at it,” Day said. “And I think that’s healthy for the entire building.”
Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz bonding during battle
Julian Sayin is probably the odds-on favorite to win the job, but he’s being pushed hard by Lincoln Kienholz. The two are very different individuals.
Still, they’ve managed to forge a bond that is helping as things get intense in the fall camp battle. And they’ve looped in the freshman, too.
“I’d say we’re friends, honestly,” Kienholz said. “I think just the past two years Julian and I have developed a good friendship and good relationship toward each other. Then obviously with Tavien (St. Clair) coming in this year as well, I think we’re all cool towards each other and we all want each other to get better and be the best we can.”
Kienholz, a junior, is the elder statesman in the room. But none of the three quarterbacks are all that far removed from the others as the battle rages on.
It has created an interesting dynamic this fall. The relationship between Kienholz and Sayin is one both quarterbacks have been working on this offseason.
“It’s a little different. He’s a Cali kid, I’m from South Dakota,” Kienholz said. “So I mean there’s some things that we have an interest together, but then there’s also a lot of things that we do on our free time. I think this summer a big thing was golf. I golfed with Julian a couple times this summer, so I think that’s something we kind of share interest in.”
Category: General Sports
