Tavien St. Clair's Benching Only Makes His Ohio State Transfer Decision More Likely

The Ohio State Buckeyes are going to have a situation on their hands this offseason.

After starting quarterback Julian Sayin went down with an injury in the Buckeyes' win over the Indiana Hoosiers just a few weeks ago, the coaching staff turned to true freshman Luke Fahey to lead the offense down the stretch of the 2026 season.

It took him a bit of time to settle in, but Fahey finally led the Buckeyes to a win, downing the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, Nov. 14, 28-19.

But the decision to turn to Fahey left one player in the dust: sophomore signal caller Tavien St. Clair.

And now, this upcoming offseason, the Buckeyes will have to wait and see if St. Clair enters the portal or sticks with the program for at least another year.

Lincoln Kienholz Did It, Why Wouldn't St. Clair?

Ohio State Buckeyes, Lincoln Kienholx — Nov 14, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals quarterback Lincoln Kienholz (3) passes the ball in the first quarter at Kenan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After the 2025 season came to a close and Sayin had finished the season as a Heisman Candidate, it became obvious that backup Lincoln Kienholz would have to leave to get legitimate playing time in the college football scene.

He would end up entering the transfer portal, being picked up by the Louisville Cardinals quickly.

In his first season as a starting quarterback at the college level, Kienholz has excelled, throwing for 2,430 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions. He has completed 68.6% of his passes, while also rushing for 408 yards and 11 scores.

Louisville is just 6-3 on the year, ranking 38th in college football, but Kienholz has shot his stock up in just a single season of ball away from the Buckeye State.

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If St. Clair is watching, he will want to replicate such a path.

Because instead of just sitting around and waiting for an opportunity to get on the field, Kienholz grabbed his career path and molded it into something that could eventually make him an NFL Draft pick.

St. Clair may still be young, but entering his junior year in the 2027 Fall Semester, he has to want to be on the field on Saturdays.

Fahey Has Looked Okay, But Now OSU Has To Rebuild

Ohio State Buckeyes, Luke Fahey — Nov 14, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Luke Fahey (13) breaks the tackle of Northwestern Wildcats defensive back Jack Oyola (27) during the fourth quarter at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The true freshman Fahey has been okay as the Buckeyes' starter.

He lost his first two games, outings against USC and Oregon, but bounced back on Saturday against the Wildcats. Across three starts, the 5-foot-11, 206-pounder has thrown for 821 yards and six touchdowns on a 65% completion rate.

Doing that against Big Ten-level competition is no easy task.

But the issue is that Fahey could have taken this season to learn behind both Sayin and St. Clair before being given a shot down the line. Instead, jumping right over St. Clair to Fahey shows that the Buckeyes believe in him more.

Now, with their eggs in the Fahey basket, they will potentially have to look to the portal this offseason to fill up the quarterback room behind him and Sayin.

And that may be harder than they think, especially with a newcomer having to be under the belief that they will be the third-stringer.

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