Ohio State spring game notes: Julian Sayin has QB battle edge, WR depth on full display

New York Times

12-04-2025

The last time Ohio State played in Ohio Stadium, it beat Tennessee 42-17 to start its national championship run.
Now, the Buckeyes are in the process of trying to move on and defend their title.
Saturday's spring game was the next step in that pursuit. With over 40,000 people in attendance at Ohio Stadium, the offense won 50-31, a more convincing win from the 1-point victory last season.
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In the midst of a quarterback battle, Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz continued more of what we saw throughout the spring, some highs and some lows, in a competition that will continue into the summer.
Sayin finished the day 17-of-24 with 175 yards and one touchdown. Kienholz completed 12 of 18 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns.
Another Spring Game in the books! Nothing better than a football Saturday in the 'Shoe. 🏈🏟️ #GoBucks
📸: @OhioStAthletics, @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/3IhQTANvxj
— Ohio State (@OhioState) April 12, 2025
Ohio State rested most of its standout starters after the first few drives, but here are thoughts from the game.
Ohio State's quarterback battle was never going to be finished by the end of the spring, but Sayin did a nice job of positioning himself in the lead going into the summer.
This spring has had a lot of ups and downs for both quarterbacks, with Kienholz looking like the better of the two in last week's scrimmage, and even slightly better in Friday's practice. But Saturday, Sayin was definitely the better of the two.
The redshirt freshman led touchdown drives on his first three drives and threw a nice ball to tight end Max Klare, splitting the safeties in the first quarter. He didn't throw an interception, looked poised in the pocket and on time with his throws. Sayin, the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 class, has always been praised for his quick release, but it seems like his decision making is picking up to the speed of the game, as well.
Kienholz had a fairly good day as well. He struggled early, going three-and-out on his first drive, and missing a few passes like a curl to Jeremiah Smith on the opening drive. He seemed to settle down in the second half, though, with 88 yards and two of his touchdowns coming in the second frame.
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Neither quarterback was perfect, but that's not what the spring game is about, especially in a quarterback battle. It's about progress.
The version of Will Howard that showed up for preseason camp looked nothing like the one who finished the spring in April last year. The offseason improvement can tilt this thing one direction, but for now, the spring game has to be the best outcome for the Buckeyes when it comes to the quarterbacks.
Ohio State can go into the summer knowing that Sayin might have the lead, but Kienholz is close enough to push him throughout the offseason.
And when the team returns in preseason camp, both will have a chance to close the door and seize the job. If they can't, that's a problem for a later date, but for now, with how inconsistent the spring was, this was as good of a day as the Buckeyes could've asked for.
'We talked about this as the spring went on, we need more 11-on-11 football,' Day said. 'You saw the growth. We had the ability to watch them every day and I wish I could say we need to get better at one, two and three but we just need to play football with these guys. We're young, we have a lot to work on, but I will say there was growth today.'
One thing we definitely learned was that the Buckeyes have an abundance of playmakers that would make every coach in the country jealous.
Everybody knows about star receiver Smith, the second-team All-American as a freshman. Carnell Tate is back for a bigger role. They were both five-star recruits out of high school. Five-star junior Brandon Inniss started in the slot and tallied two catches for 35 yards in the game, but the star of the spring game was five-star Mylan Graham.
Graham wasn't on campus last spring — he arrived in the summer — but the coaching staff has raved about his growth and it was on full display Saturday. He had four catches for 104 yards, which included a 51-yard touchdown catch that came off of a slant and featured him making safety Malik Hartford miss in the open field.
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'The biggest thing with Mylan is just finishing the catches which you saw him do some today,' Day said. 'That's his emphasis, finish contested catches, catch it clean and then put it away. He had the run after the catch, that was loose, but he has a bright future here. He has the tools it takes to be the next great one.'
Beyond the receivers, Saturday was the first chance the public got to see Klare, the transfer TE from Purdue. He has the potential to be one of the best tight ends in the country. Ohio State is already getting creative with him, as his touchdown catch came with Klare lined up in the slot as he streaked right down the middle of the defense.
The entire tight end room had a good day, too. Will Kacmarek was out on Saturday, and was seen at Friday's practice on a scooter, but he will have a full summer, Day said. Aside from him, Jelani Thurman, Nate Roberts and Bennett Christian all showed enough to Day to make him think Ohio State may need to play with two tight ends more, at times, next season.
As for the running backs, Day said it's hard to judge them until they start getting hit, but the top two guys, James Peoples and C.J. Donaldson, looked good, but the most impressive player was freshman Bo Jackson.
The Cleveland native had 13 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, while adding another touchdown through the air. This was a big spring for him after the injury that ended his senior year early. If he can stay healthy and continue to grow this offseason, he could give the Buckeyes the depth they need.
It was hard to truly judge what new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's plans are as the Buckeyes kept things pretty basic both up front and in the secondary, which isn't uncommon for spring games. It just makes it difficult to judge on that side of the ball.
It is obvious, though, that the Buckeyes have to get more impact from the defensive line. The pass rush was all simple one-on-one moves, so nobody really did too much. Transfer Logan George had two sacks, a decent game with limited stunts called up front.
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The problem was in the run game, where Day said he saw more knockbacks from the offensive line.
'We have to take a hard outlook at it,' Day said. 'I don't have the answer right now. … I don't want to make any judgments until we watch the film.'
Ohio State will likely dip into the portal when it opens April 16, the question will be how many impact players go into the portal.
The Buckeyes lost five defensive linemen from last year's roster: Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Ty Hamilton, Tyleik Williams and Hero Kanu, who transferred to Texas. Because of the national championship run, Ohio State didn't get into the portal much to replace all those bodies, especially Kanu.
The problem right now isn't so much the top-end talent, though. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry are talented edge rushers, Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald are good defensive tackles, as well, but it's about the depth. Those players are stepping into starting roles for the first time, so there's a question of how much impact they can have playing 40-50 snaps, especially if the depth behind them isn't there.
Depth questions come when elite players leave and the team doesn't replace them on the back end, so expect Ohio State to be very active in the portal this time around.
For the first time in a few years, Ohio State's offensive line talent and depth look good coming out of spring practice.
Barring any crazy portal movement, the starting group when they open against Texas will likely be Austin Siereveld at right tackle, Tegra Tshabola at right guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Luke Montgomery at left guard and Ethan Onianwa at left tackle.
Behind them, though, Day feels good about his depth.
Preseason camp will still be important for the Buckeyes, as they want to go into the season with four tackles, but between last year and this offseason, their position flexibility is helping in a massive way right now.