What Did Spring Game Reveal About Ohio State Buckeyes Quarterback Competition?

The Ohio State Buckeyes have some work to do to decide their next offensive leader.

Devin Brown shone for the Buckeyes at the Spring Game. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch /

As well as the quarterbacks played in the Ohio State Buckeyes Spring game on Saturday, the defense still held the advantage.

Five saw the field for a notable amount of snaps: freshmen Julian Sayin and Air Noland, sophomore Lincoln Kienholz, junior Devin Brown and senior Will Howard - all five of whom are competing for the starting job.

Howard started the game for the Scarlet team, throwing for 77 yards at a 69 percent clip.

Perhaps the highlight of the day for Howard, and the entire game, was his dart to senior Emeka Egbuka, who brought in a one-handed toe-tap catch on the left sideline.

Brown came in next and likely had the best day of any. He didn’t make many mistakes, if at all, and had very smart and fast decision making. The Gilbert, Arizona, native threw for just 66 yards but recorded the team’s only passing touchdown.

Brown, on the other hand, had time to go through his progressions, but when he struggled to get the ball out, decided to take it on the ground himself, rushing for 24 yards total.

April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterbacks Will Howard (18) and Devin / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch /

Kienholz, despite throwing for 71 yards, struggled, taking two sacks, and throwing a game-high two interceptions. Right off the bat, he fumbled the snap on a handoff, leading to a quick loss of a down. In fact, at one point, head coach Ryan Day could be heard on FOX getting worked up with Kienholz.

“You can’t take a sack here, have a plan!” Day said.

Sayin, who transferred from Alabama after former head coach Nick Saban announced his retirement, led all quarterbacks with 85 passing yards. Despite starting well, he missed several passes, including a wide-open one in the middle of the field that could have been a big play. Not to mention he had an interception as well. 

Noland was the last one to take the field and didn’t play a snap in the first half. Despite this, he threw for 47 yards and rushed for another 42, trailing only fellow freshman running back Sam Williams-Dixon in yards on the ground. The College Park, Georgia, native was very efficient and showed flashes of his agility and shiftiness — Noland threw for over 10,000 yards and rushed for over 300 more in his Langston Hughes High School career.

If Day and Kelly based things just on Saturday, Brown and Howard would be the clear-cut options to start next year. Of course, there is still a long time to go before the start of the regular season.

But if recent history has told us anything, it’s that Ohio State hasn’t relied on a true freshman since Braxton Miller in 2011, when he started four games that season.