Ryan Day Wants Ohio State’s Quarterback Competition to Be Settled Two Weeks Before Season Opener vs. Texas

Ryan Day wants Ohio State‘s quarterback competition to be settled by the end of next week.

While Day said Tuesday that the competition between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz could “go right down to the wire,” that doesn’t mean he wants the competition to go all the way up until the Buckeyes’ Aug. 30 season opener against Texas.

In an interview with Big Ten Network during its Thursday stop at Ohio State as part of its Big Ten Fall Camp Tour, Day said he hopes to pick a starting quarterback by the end of next week, as he would like to have a starter in place at least two weeks before the game against the Longhorns.

“I'd like to see them continue to compete throughout this week, maybe into next week. But you'd like to have an idea of who that guy's going to be for at least a couple weeks heading into the first game,” Day said.

Unless one quarterback clearly separates from the other over the next couple of days, that likely means Day will publicly name Ohio State’s starting quarterback on Monday, Aug. 18, when he’s scheduled to hold a press conference. (He’ll also hold one next Monday.)

That would follow a similar timeline as last year, when Day named Will Howard the starting quarterback during his Aug. 15 press conference, 16 days before the Buckeyes’ season opener against Akron. Similarly, C.J. Stroud was named Ohio State’s starting quarterback on Aug. 21, 2021 and Justin Fields was named Ohio State’s starting quarterback on Aug. 19, 2019.

As Ohio State’s head coach, the only times Day has let a starting quarterback competition to continue until the first game week were in 2023, when Kyle McCord and Devin Brown continued to compete into the season before McCord was named the full-time starter after two games, and 2018, when Day waited until the week of the season opener before naming Dwayne Haskins the starter over Tate Martell.

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Day doesn’t want to wait that long this year. But he’ll want to see consistent performance in practice from one quarterback or the other – with an emphasis on avoiding turnovers –before he names either of them the starter.

“They both have had good moments and moments where they're growing, but the competition continues,” Day said Tuesday. “I will say that I've been pleased with the progress. We're not where we need to be. But if they continue to learn from the mistakes they're making and continue to grow off the plays that they're doing well and moving the offense and taking care of the football, then it's going to go right down to the wire. But ultimately, they got to take care of the football.”

Offensive coordinator Brian Hartline isn’t ready to make a quarterback decision either, but said he thinks the competition between Kienholz and Sayin is making both of them – and everyone around them – better.

“It's a true battle, and they have that opportunity for one to make the other one better,” Hartline told BTN on Thursday. “Competition can breed the best out of individuals. So if you really have a room or a position like that, it really allows you to maximize the individual. So good for the team, frankly. And the guys are competing prep-wise, on the field, in the weight room, they're doing a phenomenal job and they are pushing each other. So I think the benefit is the team’s going to have the best version of one of those guys.

“And I'm not saying they both don't play. Coach Day and I have talked a little bit about that. Ultimately, it's going to be a conversation. But they're both doing a really good job.”

Ohio State wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, however, indicated that they would like to be able to get into a rhythm with one starting quarterback sooner than later.

“It's just hard to get a drive rolling when you've got the constant quarterback switching. It's been proven whenever there's two quarterbacks, it's hard to get the offense rolling,” Tate said during an interview with Smith on BTN. “But they're both great quarterbacks, and it's just a matter of which one we're going to choose.”

“Like Carnell said, when it's two quarterbacks, it's hard to get a drive going. But them guys are out there competing each and every day, so you can't blame them. They're just out here competing,” Smith said.

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