Inside The Huskies

Here's What Happened to One-Time UW Commit Lincoln Kienholz

The South Dakota native was poised to play for Kalen DeBoer before Ohio State flipped him.
Dan Raley|
Ohio State quarterbacks Lincoln Kienholz, left, and Julian Sayin were both pursued by the Huskies.
Ohio State quarterbacks Lincoln Kienholz, left, and Julian Sayin were both pursued by the Huskies. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The plan all along was for Kalen DeBoer's University of Washington football staff to sign Lincoln Kienholz and have him come to Montlake and compete with Sam Huard for the No. 1 quarterback job.

Of course, none of those aforementioned individuals stayed or arrived in Montlake to make any of that happen.

This weekend, Kienholz will show up with top-ranked Ohio State to play the UW on Saturday at Husky Stadium while DeBoer coaches at Alabama and Huard serves as USC's third-string QB.

Three years ago, Kienholz was DeBoer's great recruiting find, a talent unearthed in the coach's native South Dakota, a player well off the recruiting beaten path but an accomplished athlete in multiple sports just the same.

Kienholz hailed from the state capital of Pierre and actually resembled a young Kalen DeBoer, who emerged from the town of Milbank and the University of Sioux Falls, with their sandy blond hair and ruddy facial features.

This connection came undone in December 2022 when Kienholz, committed to the UW for six months, flipped to the Buckeyes at the last minute, leaving DeBoer notably displeased with what took place.

"When you're committed, you're committed," DeBoer said, choosing his words carefully. "Every situation is different and I think that's a part of it. Times change, but they still stay the same. When you give your verbal commitment, it is that."

DeBoer, of course, found himself put in a similar situation when Alabama coaxed him away from Washington shortly after the 2024 CFP national championship game.

Similar to DeBoer, Kienholz said something about his situation that sort of came back to bite him later.

Asked why he flipped his commitment to the Buckeyese, the quarterback offered an honest assessment that turned up in the Columbus Post-Dispatch and elsewhere.

"I think Washington had better NIL than Ohio State," he said of name, image and likeness rights. "I think I can go to Washington and get money, or I can go to Ohio State and be developed and then potentially reach my goal of going to the NFL."

He said this at a time when the Huskies' Michael Penix Jr. was leading the nation in different passing categories and soon to become a top 10 NFL No. 1 draft pick.

Now in his third season at Ohio State, the 6-foot-2, 214-pound Kienholz finds himself as a junior back-up quarterback to sophomore Julian Sayin from Carlsbad, California.

He's played in five career games, including two this season. He has passing totals of 16 completions in 29 attempts for 182 yards and a touchdown.

Kienholz has had one meaningful outing, appearing in the Cotton Bowl two years ago in a 14-3 loss to Missouri as an injury fill-in for then starter Devin Brown.

Considering that DeBoer wasn't long for Seattle, Kienholz no doubt made a good decision to turn to Ohio State and not have to play for someone else who didn't originally sign him.

It will be interesting to see if the South Dakota native can make it happen and become the Buckeyes' No. 1 quarterback before he's done and have a shot at pro football.

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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