Ryan Day will be thinking first and foremost about the present.
In deciding who will play quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes at USC on Saturday, OSU’s head coach will be most concerned with who gives Ohio State the best chance to win this week, and going forward, in pursuit of a spot in the College Football Playoff — even without injured starting QB Julian Sayin.
His options are Luke Fahey, who was the relief choice against Indiana, and Tavien St. Clair, the former five-star recruit.
Both options likely come with risk-versus-reward, and after a bye week gave the Buckeyes extra time to figure out what they want to do, it’s just about decision time.
Day started game week by deflecting the idea of publicly naming a starting QB, but even if Day doesn’t announce it in advance, one of Fahey or St. Clair will start on Saturday.
And if it’s not St. Clair, Day is taking a big risk — maybe not for the present, but certainly for the future.
Ohio State QB Risk
St. Clair isn’t just a five-star recruit.
He’s a five-star recruit from Bellefontaine, Ohio. He’s a kid from the Buckeye State who chose to stay home and play QB at the institution that rules college sports in Ohio.
If Day doesn’t start St. Clair, what does that say to the next promising quarterback prospect from Ohio?
“And while St. Clair raised some eyebrows when the Buckeyes recruited him, they had no choice,” writes Sonny Fulks of Press Pros Magazine. “You either take the state’s five-star quarterback who can throw the ball seventy five yards, or you risk losing the next Ohio five-star quarterback who comes along. Why? Because of perception. The coach thinks that what comes out of California, or Texas, or Florida is better because he assumes they played against better competition – better than St. Clair played against in the Central Buckeye Conference. And it’s hard to disavow. Action speaks louder than words. It’s how it’s always worked. ‘He thinks our guy isn’t good enough to play for Ohio State.’ Politics. You have to offer and sign him, because he might go to Michigan or Penn State. And St. Clair had that choice.”
Ohio State has missed on top in-state quarterbacks before. Drew Allar, from Mentor, ended up at Penn State. Ryan Montgomery, from Findlay, chose to go to Georgia.
The Buckeyes had pursued those guys, but they didn’t get them. They got St. Clair, and what they do next could speak volumes.
Season-Defining Call
Sayin has been ruled out “indefinitely” by Day, so the player he picks to start at QB might just have that job for the rest of the season.
Ohio State competes for national championships, and that’s that. They won’t get any points for accomplishing something less than that with a backup quarterback.
Before the heavy transfer era, the Buckeyes had success with backups, but there hasn’t been much in reserve for a while it seems.
Fahey or St. Clair could change that. Will Day go with the three-star recruit from California, or the five-star recruit from Bellefontaine? The choice could define this season, and recruiting classes to come.
Ohio State Takes Big Risk If Benching Tavien St. Clair