Lincoln Kienholz Looking Forward To First Real QB Competition

One year ago at this time, Ohio State quarterback Lincoln Kienholz was a redshirt freshman going through his first winter workouts and getting ready to experience his first spring camp. This was less than two months after being thrown into the fire in the Cotton Bowl as a true freshman thanks to an injury to starter Devin Brown.

Kienholz played the final three quarters of that 14-3 loss to Missouri, completing 6-of-17 passes for 86 yards behind a makeshift offensive line and without All-American receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. It was not the unofficial debut he was hoping for, but he did what he could on short notice.

Kienholz saw action in two games last year as the Buckeyes’ No. 4 quarterback, but didn’t attempt a pass. Now with starter Will Howard off to the NFL and backup Devin Brown off to California via the transfer portal, Kienholz is about to embark on his first true quarterback battle as a Buckeye.

Ohio State will enter spring ball with just three scholarship quarterbacks, and Kienholz will be the elder statesman of the group. Redshirt freshman Julian Sayin won the third-team job last year but played in just four games, throwing just 12 passes. The third contender is true freshman Tavien St. Clair, who is one of the best quarterback prospects in the 2025 recruiting class.

All three will be given an opportunity, but the expectation is that the real competition this spring will be between Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin. The competition is going to be closely watched and there will be a ton of pressure on everybody involved, but the attention and pressure can’t be part of the process.

Kienholz understands that you can’t win the job unless you can actually do the job.

“For me I’m just going to try to focus on what I can do and just try to outwork and try to be a leader for the team,” he said recently.

Kienholz has now spent two years in the Ohio State offense, which makes him the most experienced quarterback on the roster. It’s not something he’s accustomed to, but it’s something he’s trying to use to his advantage.

“It’s weird because I’ve been here the past few years with guys that are seniors and super seniors, so it’s been different,” he said. “I think it’ll be interesting because, I mean, as of right now, I’ll be the oldest guy in the room. I think that’ll help me out, just being with the team longer and jumping into that leadership role.”

Kienholz was a decorated multi-sport athlete back at T.F. Riggs High School in Pierre, South Dakota, so leadership was never a problem when he was in a position to do so. Now at Ohio State, however, he’s still growing into that role.

“I mean, it’s going to be something that I really haven’t done before,” he said. “It’s going to be really a lot of offseason work. A lot of pushing people, being someone that is more vocal. Stuff like that.

“I feel like the more you grow older, the more it kind of relates to high school. Where you have that confidence to go out there and just speak in front of people and just be a leader in front of people. And I think that’ll help.”

Lincoln Kienholz spent most of 2024 on the scout team, which put him in difficult positions against the nation’s best defense. Sometimes he sank, sometimes he swam. All of it helped, and now he’s a more confident player who has a better understanding of what is being asked of him.

He is now more equipped than ever to compete to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback. But there is also the unspoken realization that only one quarterback is going to play and transfers are the new way of life.

For instance, as OSU’s head coach, Ryan Day has signed seven high school quarterbacks between the 2019-2024 recruiting classes. The only two quarterbacks who haven’t transferred out from that list are CJ Stroud and Lincoln Kienholz.

The transfer topic is going to be brought up around any quarterback who isn’t starting. Kienholz is no exception.

“If this spring doesn’t work out for me then I might have to look somewhere else,” he said. “But that’s not really what I’m thinking of right now.”

Spring practices get underway March 17 for an abbreviated four-week stretch of 15 practices. Ryan Day is not expected to name a starting quarterback until sometime during fall camp.

Go to discussion...