Inside The Huskies

One Week from Signing Date, Huskies Lose South Dakota QB Commit to Ohio State

Midwest recruit Lincoln Kienholz can't resist the Buckeyes and the Big Ten.
Dan Raley|
One Week from Signing Date, Huskies Lose South Dakota QB Commit to Ohio State
One Week from Signing Date, Huskies Lose South Dakota QB Commit to Ohio State

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Washington Huskies

So much for the South Dakota connection.

On Wednesday, 4-star quarterback Lincoln Kienholz flipped his recruiting commitment from the University of Washington to Ohio State — exactly one week from early signing day — after the Buckeyes made a late bid for the dual-threat player.

Kienholz' pledge to fellow Dakotan Kalen DeBoer began to come unraveled shortly before Thanksgiving when the record-setting player from T.F. Riggs High School in the state capital of Pierre acknowledged he was taking a recruiting visit to Columbus, Ohio, to attend the Buckeyes-Michigan game.

DeBoer, in his first year as Husky coach, couldn't comment directly on the situation, but it was clear he was none too pleased with the possibility of losing someone considered a prized recruit, especially so late in the process.

"I mean when you're committed, you're committed," DeBoer said last month before the Apple Cup. "Every situation is different. That's a part of times changed, but also they still stay the same. When you give your verbal commitment, that's that. Everything is different. Every situation you run to has its own little pieces to it."

It appeared something might be up late Tuesday night when WSU quarterback commit Sam Leavitt, a 4-star recruit from West Linn, Oregon, announced he had received a scholarship offer from the Huskies. Earlier in the day, Cougars offensive coordinator Eric Morris accepted the head-coaching job at North Texas. Leavitt has not yet flipped his commitment nor is there any indication he will.

Kienholz committed to the UW and DeBoer's staff after visiting in late June, choosing the Huskies over Wisconsin and Wyoming. However, he went from somewhat lightly recruited to much more desired as other Big Ten schools tried to pry him loose from his Husky pledge.

The quarterback couldn't say he was flipping just to play closer to his family. Columbus is 1,146 miles east of Pierre, just 142 miles less than traveling west to Seattle. No, he was immediately smitten with the Big Ten powerhouse, which in recent recruiting periods has taken touted local players away from the UW in edge rusher JT Tuimoloau and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka. 

“I think just their past culture and tradition with their quarterbacks, that’s huge,” Kienholz told 247Sports in regards to the Buckeyes. “Also their success they’ve had with their quarterbacks and success they’ve had with their football team, as well. Also I think it will be a really cool atmosphere seeing Ohio State versus Michigan going to a game.”

Kienholz comes off a senior season in which he lead his Riggs team to a state championship, completing nearly 67 percent of his passes for 3,422 yards and 46 touchdowns, and had just six interceptions. He ran for another 1,436 yards and 24 touchdowns.

“Right now I’m still 100 percent committed to Washington,” Kienholz said before his Buckeyes recruiting trip. “I want to take this visit as an opportunity to go check it out and if I really like it go from there. Right now it’s a possibility.”

The Huskies, however, haven't seen the last of the young quarterback. Ohio State visits Husky Stadium in 2024, the same year that the Big Ten welcomes USC and UCLA into the conference. 

Kienholz could be playing that day in Montlake or be buried on the Buckeyes' depth chart, while the Huskies turn to Sam Huard, Dylan Morris or somebody completely different.

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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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