Quarterback For 2026 Ohio State Buckeyes: A Battle Emerges Between Heisman Finalist Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair

Quarterback for the 2026 Ohio State Buckeyes was thought to be locked up by Heisman finalist Julian Sayin. After all, he was the most accurate in the history of college football last season. However, his backup, Tavien St. Clair, had a great spring practice and is putting pressure on Sayin.

The Ohio State quarterback must not only be accurate, but also must run and have a strong arm. Sayin has been criticized for both his reluctance to run and his mediocre arm strength. On the other hand, St. Clair has both a strong arm and is a willing runner. Do you think this controversy is real?

Ohio State Quarterback Julian Sayin

Sayin is the returning starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy last season as a redshirt sophomore. To boot, Sayin was already one of college football’s most accurate quarterbacks last season, leading the nation with a 77% completion percentage. Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day publicly challenged Ohio State’s starting quarterback to improve as a runner this spring.

Day said, “His strength, as we all know, is that the ball comes out accurately in throwing the football, but making an impact with his legs when appropriate, we know that that’s the X factor that has to show up this year.” At Ohio State, the quarterback needs to run to complement the stable of running backs. Sayin showed improved mobility in practices that were open to the media as well as the spring game, in which he ran for a touchdown on the opening drive.

It is also the case that the diminutive returning starting quarterback has been challenged for his lack of arm strength. In fact, he has fallen out of the first round in several ways-too-early 2027 mock drafts. While he may be running more, he is not getting much bigger. His arm strength remains a question. Meanwhile, his backup can clearly make all the throws.

Ohio State Backup Quarterback Tavien St. Clair

In his second spring as an Ohio State quarterback, St. Clair firmly established himself as Ohio State’s second quarterback for the 2026 season and demonstrated why he was one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class. He may even be challenging Sayin; he was so good.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman from Bellefontaine, Ohio, put his arm strength and athleticism on display this spring. These are precisely the traits that Sayin is lacking. Also, he is much bigger than Sayin. St. Clair’s skills were particularly on display in the spring game. He completed three deep balls, which were highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry Jr. That was a preview of a future combination for the Buckeyes, if not the present.

Importantly, St. Clair looked more confident and composed guiding the offense this spring, showing he is caught up to the speed of the college game. There were some questions about his ability. The high school he attended was small, and he did not face good competition.

He said, “I had meetings with (quarterbacks coach Billy) Fessler and (head coach Ryan) Day before this spring. That was something they wanted to see from me, and that was something I wanted for myself as well, just to be more confident, to go out there and be in control of the offense. And I just feel like, through my preparation, that as quarterbacks, all the work we’ve put in and things like that in the offseason, it’s helped me to go out there and be confident and execute on the field.”

Verdict

Sayin has too many accomplishments not to be the starting quarterback at Ohio State. That said, expect St. Clair to get some playing time, and expect a call for him to be the starter to intensify. With a trip to Texas looming for the second game of the season, Sayin needs to be ready to go right away.