Ohio State may have most of its depth chart settled, but one of the few lingering questions sits right behind Julian Sayin.
The Buckeyes know their starter heading into the season. What they don’t seem ready to say yet is who would step in if Sayin can’t go. That uncertainty came into focus during a Buckeye Talk position-by-position confidence exercise, where backup quarterback emerged as the spot that still feels unresolved.
Stephen Means didn’t hide his unease when the discussion turned to that room.
“I’m at a three,” Means said. “And I am at a three while acknowledging that quarterback is always going to be Ryan Day’s baby. He is very much harder on his quarterbacks than any other position group.”
Means later brought the issue to Day during Monday’s press conference, asking whether the Buckeyes know who their backup quarterback is. The answer, he said, was not a clean yes.
“His answer wasn’t yes,” Means said. “And I think after the spring he probably envisioned a world where if someone would have asked him on Aug.
24, ‘Do you know who your backup quarterback is?’ his answer would have been, ‘Yes.’”
That lack of clarity stands out because Day has usually been direct about his quarterback room when he feels good about it. Means noted that in past seasons, when the depth chart at quarterback has been settled, Day has said so plainly and named the player. This time, with the season only two weeks away, that confidence hasn’t shown up.
The competition itself has become part of the story. Freshman Luke Fahey’s push has at least made the battle real, which is one positive takeaway.
But there was an expectation that sophomore Tavien St. Clair, widely viewed as the quarterback of the future, would have the backup job locked down by now.
Instead, the Buckeyes head toward the opener with an open competition still hanging behind Sayin.
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Ryan Day has described Bey as a dynamic player with significant potential, and that fits the path that brought him to Columbus in the first place. His recruitment went through a twisty stretch before he signed with Ohio State, including a flip from Tennessee after he was released from his original commitment, so the Buckeyes knew they were getting a player whose story was already a little different. Now the only real question is how quickly that promise turns into a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]
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What makes Bey worth watching this fall is less about where he sits today and more about how the Buckeyes might use him if they want to get him touches. The coaching staff has looked at him as a player who could be deployed creatively on offense and on special teams, which gives him a clearer path to early playing time than a typical freshman buried on the depth chart. His return to practice has put him back in position to keep pushing for that role, and Ohio State will have to decide how much of it it wants to carve out. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has One More Captain Debate Fans Will Jump On
Ryan Day has already put the 2026 Ohio State captains in place, and the list comes with a little extra intrigue because it includes seven names, not the more familiar handful fans are used to sorting through. Austin Siereveld and Brandon Inniss are back on the honor roll for a second straight year, a sign that the coaching staff sees real continuity in the leadership group as the Buckeyes turn the page to another season.
Even so, the conversation around captains does not really end when the announcement is made. There is still room for debate about whether the room should be bigger, and players such as Luke Montgomery and Earl Little Jr. naturally invite that kind of discussion as Ohio State looks for the right mix of experience, voice and presence. The official list is set, but this is the sort of decision Buckeye fans will keep revisiting because leadership on a team this size always feels like more than a formality. [Read more 🡒]