What Tavien St. Clair brings to the table at quarterback after losing black stripe

In an encouraging sign of progress, freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair is officially a full-fledged member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Ohio State announced on social media that St. Clair lost his black stripe after Tuesday’s practice.

The Ohio State black stripe tradition started upon Urban Meyer’s arrival in Columbus in 2012. The idea behind the tradition is that each member must fully earn their place on the team before having their black stripe removed from their helmet. Each player must fight for and win their spot on the Buckeyes’ roster.

St. Clair is the 13th member of Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class to lose the black stripe on his helmet. For St. Clair specifically, coach Ryan Day has spoken glowingly of his progress, even if his time as the starter may come further down the line.

“He has all the traits. He has the tools,” Day said in August. “We think he can absolutely be the quarterback of our future. But he’s got a gap here that he’s got to cover. He’s working at it hard.”

St. Clair was a highly regarded quarterback prospect in the 2025 recruiting class coming out of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and his commitment to the Buckeyes was a big win. According to 247 Sports, St. Clair was the No. 3 quarterback and No. 4 overall player in the country. He was also the highest-ranked recruit in the state of Ohio.

So far this season, St. Clair appeared once in the Week 2 win vs. Grambling State. He played 13 snaps in the blowout, going 0-2 passing.

While St. Clair is currently buried down the depth chart behind newly entrenched starter Julian Sayin and backup Lincoln Kienholz, he has the potential to take over as the Buckeyes’ starter one day.

St. Clair showed year-to-year improvement while playing small-town ball, and some development time in college would be good for his game. On the camp circuit, St. Clair flashed the ability to make virtually every throw, and he has the physical tools to compete at the highest level.

St. Clair has ideal size for the position at 6-foot-four, 225 pounds, and he has more agility and creativity as a runner than some give him credit for. His core strength is a big plus, as he can throw off-balance with relative ease.

He has to work on cutting down on mental errors, and he probably needs some time to adjust to the scheme after playing in a more basic offensive scheme in high school.

St. Clair losing his black stripe is an encouraging sign of his progress in Columbus, and Buckeye fans should be excited about his potential. Julian Sayin is not going anywhere as the starter, but it never hurts to have good quarterbacks in the program.

St. Clair can be a high-level starter in the right situation, and the Buckeyes are hoping he can be a successor down the line.