Closer Look: Tavien St. Clair Could Be Total Package At Quarterback

Tavien St. Clair was a two-time First-Team All-State quarterback at Bellefontaine High School in Bellefontaine, Ohio. As a senior, he threw for 2,536 yards with 29 touchdowns in 11 games. As a junior, he threw for 3,083 yards with 37 touchdowns in 14 games. He finished his high school career with over 10,000 yards passing and 100 touchdowns.

St. Clair was ranked a top 10 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class and the No. 3 quarterback overall in the 247Sports Composite. He signed with Ohio State over offers from every other major program in the nation that thought they might have a shot. St. Clair committed to Ohio State in June of 2023, one week after receiving a Michigan offer.

What To Like

Tavien St. Clair possesses all of the prototypical traits coaches want in their quarterbacks. He is 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, so there is no height issue or need to add weight. He is essentially NFL-sized as a true freshman. St. Clair improved his entire skill set throughout his high school career, which could be seen every year he showed up to Ohio State’s June camps.

St. Clair also has the athleticism to make his legs part of that skill set. Ohio State quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler wants a quarterback who can fix the kind of problems that can develop on any given play.

“You have to be able to at least solve a problem with your feet,” Fessler said this spring when asked what traits he looks for in a quarterback. “It’s rare in college football that every protection is blocked up perfectly or everything goes the exact way that we drew it up on the whiteboard. So, when things break down, [he looks for] the ability to fix it with our legs.”

In the clips below, St. Clair shows not only the ability to fix things with his legs, but also the kind of mobility that can be used as part of the overall passing game.

Ohio State freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair was one of the top QBs in the 2025 class for many reasons. One of them was his ability to throw accurately on the run. pic.twitter.com/fTyWPSgRW1
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) April 21, 2025

The Potential

There are no questions about Tavien St. Clair’s arm strength. He can stretch the field, as the clips below show. The ability to throw the ball to all spots keeps the offense less congested. St. Clair’s overall skill set has pluses all over the place. Maybe the most important aspect of his approach is that he’s always been focused on getting better. Now that he’s at Ohio State, don’t expect that approach to change.

When you combine St. Clair’s ability to throw the ball wherever it is needed, his ability to keep plays alive with his legs, and his desire to keep getting better, the potential here is as high as it’s been for any Buckeye quarterback before him.

Ohio State will always have the receivers to stretch the field. Tavien St. Clair has the arm to take advantage of the talent of his teammates. pic.twitter.com/Vrj0A1aKqV
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) April 21, 2025

The Expectation

The immediate expectation for Tavien St. Clair is that he can watch for a year while either Julian Sayin or Lincoln Kienholz starts for the Buckeyes in 2025. St. Clair was in for the spring, so he got just as many reps as Kienholz and Sayin, but expecting a true freshman to win the job is always going to be unfair and unlikely.

Beyond 2025, however, the expectations get quite a bit more interesting. Even with the Buckeyes likely returning their starting quarterback in 2026, St. Clair’s talent is going to give him a puncher’s chance at winning the job. And once he is in the lineup, expect him to make plays.

Tavien St. Clair is capable of being part of the running game, whether that means draws, counters, reads, or scrambles. And he's effective too. pic.twitter.com/qVn69KybTR
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) April 21, 2025

Bottom Line

If a college coach were to design a quarterback, he’d come out looking a lot like Tavien St. Clair. The building blocks are already there, but there will continue to be improvements with footwork and technique. The potential is where it needs to be, now it comes down to tailoring St. Clair’s game to what the Buckeyes need.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is a quarterback guru and he can speak for hours and hours on what he wants to see from a quarterback, but there is also a very simple answer to that question. Arm strength is great. Accuracy is a must. Athleticism is key. But all else being equal, if a quarterback is going to be successful in the Ohio State offense, Day just wants them to do the routine things routinely.

There is no reason to think that Tavien St. Clair can’t manage that kind of task as well.

Tavien St. Clair can make whatever throw you need and also escape pressure or help in the running game. But what Ryan Day is going to want most is for him to make the routine plays routinely. He can do that too. pic.twitter.com/zEFfTh2Jjj
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) April 21, 2025

RB CJ Donaldson | TE Max Klare | OT Ethan Onianwa | OT Phillip Daniels | DE Logan George