What the Lincoln Kienholz transfer means for Ohio State next year

The Ohio State Buckeyes just got thinner at the quarterback position.

But it may be for the better.

After exiting the 2025 College Football Playoffs with a loss in the opening round against the Miami Hurricanes, the Buckeyes saw countless players enter the transfer portal. One entry that came as no surprise, but certainly was gut-wrenching, was sophomore signal caller Lincoln Kienholz. He then signed with Louisville, having two years of eligibility remaining.

During his time with Ohio State, Kienholz served as the team's backup behind both Will Howard in 2024 and Julian Sayin in 2025. He's talented, but never fit the mold of a Buckeye quarterback and was constantly beat out for the starting spot. The only thing was that he, if ever needed, would have been a reliable No. 2 that the team could turn to.

Now, without him, they coaching staff will have to either pickup another body in the transfer portal to increase the team's depth at the position, or put all their eggs in the basket of freshman Tavien St. Clair.

What does 2026 look like for the Buckeyes signal callers?

Obviously, unless something drastic happens, the starting quarterback role will stick with Sayin. In 2025, he tossed for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions on a 77% completion mark. His deep ball accuracy made him especially lethal, connecting with wideouts Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith numerous times down the field.

He ended up finishing in the top-four in the Heisman race and was regarded as one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the nation.

Behind Sayin, though, is where the Buckeyes will need guys to develop and grow.

St. Clair is promising, especially since he'll technically be in his redshirt freshman season. Coming out of high school, he led Bellefontaine to a strong 9-3 record and a small run in the state playoffs while tossing for 2,536 yards and 29 touchdowns. The exciting thing about St. Clair is that he's mobile, tacking on nine touchdowns in high school as well.

In his first year as a member of the Buckeye program, he's garnered high praise from the coaching staff. Back in early October, his black stripe was removed, a tradition that means he became a full member of the team and earned his place.

As long as he continues to work hard and develop, he should backup Sayin next season.

The rest of the quarterback room is also just as inexperienced as St. Clair. They currently have numerous 2025 freshman in Trey Robinette out of Miami Trace and Kolton Stover from Highland. Each will work to take the QB3 spot behind St. Clair and Sayin.

The 2026 class is a bit thin at quarterback, understandably so, with the talent they had before the portal opened, with the only commit signee being Luke Fahey. He's a three-star quarterback out of Mission Viejo, Cali., and is most notably known for throwing no interceptions and nearly 20 touchdowns in his senior season.

While things behind Sayin and St. Clair will get a bit interesting heading into next season, those two should have the top two spots in the depth chart locked down.