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Will Howard, Ohio State Draft Hopefuls Make Pick for Next Buckeyes Starting QB

One of the top jobs in college football is now open.

Tyler Lauletta

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterbacks Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair drop back to pass during spring football practice.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterbacks Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair drop back to pass during spring football practice. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Ohio State Buckeyes will look quite different when they take the field in 2025.

The reigning national champions are, unsurprisingly, saying goodbye to several stars who are set to jump to the NFL in the coming draft—offensive tackle Josh Simmons, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins could all be off the board when day two of the draft comes to a close.

While the Buckeyes have plenty of holes to fill on both sides of the ball, the biggest is undoubtedly at quarterback, with Will Howard also declared for the coming draft. The starting job is still up for grabs as Ohio State begins spring practice, but according to the former Buckeyes heading to the NFL, redshirt freshman Julian Sayin is the man for the job.

“Julian's that guy, to be honest with you," cornerback Denzel Burke told reporters at the scouting combine earlier this year, per a story by ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. Howard agreed, saying of Sayin, “Now it's his time.”

As things stand, just two other quarterbacks are in contention for the starting role at Ohio State—junior Lincoln Kienholz and freshman Tavien St. Clair. While the former Buckeyes have clearly given Sayin the edge, the quarterback himself is taking his journey one snap at a time.

"You have to block out the noise," said Sayin, per ESPN. "I'm just focusing on spring practice and just getting better."

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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