Ohio State Spring Practice Insider: Buckeye Quarterbacks Up And Down

The Buckeyes were on the field for the 11th practice of spring camp on Saturday. The practice coincided with the annual Student Appreciation Day, where students are permitted to attend practice and watch from the sidelines — and sometimes the field.

This was the public’s first opportunity to watch Ohio State’s ongoing quarterback competition between redshirt freshman Julian Sayin, redshirt sophomore Lincoln Kienholz, and true freshman Tavien St. Clair.

The entire practice featured 11-on-11 scrimmage play. Kienholz started the sessions with the ones, but both he and Sayin rotated with the first team throughout.

Kienholz appeared to have the better day, leading the offense on a pair of touchdown drives from the opposing 45-yard line. One of those drives was a 55-yard touchdown pass dropped into the arms of junior receiver Carnell Tate with true freshman cornerback Devin Sanchez in good coverage.

Senior nickel back Lorenzo Styles broke up an out pass from Kienholz to redshirt sophomore Brandon Inniss. Styles popped the ball up and nearly grabbed it for what would have been a pick six.

Sayin’s first drive moved the ball into the red zone but they were stopped on a pair of short-yardage runs on third and fourth down. Later in practice, he threw a pass too late to the left side of the field and junior cornerback Jermaine Mathews picked it off. Mathews also had a PBU on a deep shot from Sayin to Tate.

St. Clair was generally “live” throughout practice, meaning he could be hit. At the end of practice, all of the QBs were made live. St. Clair spent much of his day trying to evade a pass rush, which he did effectively and still looked downfield for receivers.

Overall, it was not a great day for the quarterbacks. Kienholz missed an open Jelani Thurman as the redshirt sophomore tight end ran across the middle of the field wide open. Following a pass down the middle of the field into double coverage by Sayin, head coach Ryan Day went over to quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler and asked a question. He walked away shaking his head at the answer. The play resulted in a first down following a pass interference call.

None of this is a surprise, however. Depending on the day, one quarterback can outshine another — and has. Consistency will ultimately win this job, but consistency can be difficult to find in the spring.

Notable Freshmen

Receiver Quincy Porter had a good day catching the ball and moving the chains. Porter had his black stripe removed following practice. Porter beat cornerback classmate Devin Sanchez deep, but Lincoln Kienholz’s pass was underthrown, which allowed Sanchez to break it up.

Sanchez was working with both the ones and twos, as was sophomore Aaron Scott.

Jake Cook was working with the twos at left guard.

Running back Bo Jackson was a standout through the practice. He’s got speed, but he was running with power and force during some physical scrimmaging. There was not a lot of room running behind a third-team offensive line but he was making the most of it.

Receivers De’zie Jones and Phillip Bell both made some catches on the day as well.

The Offensive Line Is Progressing

The first offensive line of the day looked this way:

LT Ethan Onianwa
LG Luke Montgomery
C Carson Hinzman
RG Tegra Tshabola
RT Austin Siereveld

Redshirt freshman Ian Moore worked with both the ones and twos at left tackle. Minnesota transfer Phillip Daniels worked with the ones and twos at right tackle.

Emptying The Notebook

• Senior linebacker Sonny Styles pretty much had the day off. He and junior safety Caleb Downs spent most of their time standing next to defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Downs did play some throughout practice, but it was not a lot. Styles then spent 30 or so minutes after practice taking pictures with his fellow students.
• It was a quiet day for sophomore receiver Jeremiah Smith. There were not many deep shots taken, perhaps mostly due to a lack of time to throw.
• Sophomore linebacker Payton Pierce was making plays against the run and pass. He just finds the football and stops it from moving forward.
• Junior nose tackle Kayden McDonald stuffed senior running back CJ Donaldson on third and one. Redshirt freshman Sam Williams-Dixon was then stuffed on fourth and one.
• Malik Hartford was with the ones at the safety opposite Caleb Downs, but sophomore Jaylen McClain was also with the ones plenty. Hartford batted down a rollout pass in the red zone.
• Redshirt freshman defensive end Dominic Kirks sacked Julian Sayin while facing the second-team offensive line.
• Redshirt freshman receiver Mylan Graham was making catches early on in practice when the quarterbacks were looking his way.
• Redshirt sophomore receiver Brandon Inniss caught a 30-yarder down the middle of the field. Inniss and Graham were on the field together in 12 personnel at times.

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