Ohio State coach Ryan Day wasn't ready to name a starting quarterback after Team Scarlet defeated Team Gray 34-33 in the LifeSports Spring Game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
But the competition appears to be down to Will Howard vs. Devin Brown. Will that change with the spring transfer portal window from April 16-30?
“I wouldn't say that I'm going to make any declarations right now,” Day said Saturday. “But we'll look at the film and see what it looks like and then decide where to go from there.”
Ohio State has five scholarship quarterbacks on its roster. Sophomore Lincoln Kienholz and freshmen Julian Sayin and Air Noland also are fighting for reps.
A look at how those quarterbacks fared in the spring game:
MORE: Ranking the ACC quarterbacks for 2024 | SEC quarterbacks
Ohio State QB spring game stats
| QUARTERBACKS | COMP-ATT | YDS | TD | INTS |
| Will Howard | 9-13 | 77 | 0 | 0 |
| Devin Brown | 5-7 | 66 | 1 | 0 |
| Juilan Sayin | 10-17 | 85 | 0 | 1 |
| Lincoln Kienholz | 10-17 | 71 | 0 | 2 |
| Air Noland | 5-7 | 47 | 0 | 1 |
| Chad Ray | 1-2 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
Who will start for Ohio State in 2024? Will any of those quarterbacks transfer? A look at the scenarios as the portal opens:
Will Howard vs. Devin Brown: Who will start for Ohio State in 2024?
Will Howard – a Kansas State transfer – took the first snaps in the spring game. Howard finished 9 of 13 for 77 yards, and three of those four incompletions were on shots to the end zone that were broken up. Howard took one sack on the game's opening drive on a pressure from Jack Sawyer, but the veteran quarterback showed command with new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Howard's longest pass of the day was an 18-yard connection with Emeka Egbuka.
Will Howard ➡️ Emeka Egbuka
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) April 13, 2024
Ft. one-handed catch pic.twitter.com/ha4DhXKCsf
Devin Brown – who was the Buckeyes' backup last season – will push this competition into the fall. Brown was 5 of 7 for 66 yards and a TD – a red-zone TD to Brennan Schramm on a run-pass option. Brown added three rushing attempts for 24 yards. Granted, the quarterbacks weren't getting hit in a spring game, but that added mobility from the quarterback position has been a missing element in Ohio State's offense the last three seasons.
Howard can run too, however, and the backfield features the tandem of TreVeyon Henderson and Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins – who combined for 49 yards on 6.1 yards per carry.
It looks like Howard has the lead heading into fall camp – and the factor to watch moving forward is the red zone. Howard was 35 of 60 for 290 yards, 17 TDs and no interceptions in the red zone for Kansas State last season. He missed some red-zone shots Saturday, but that was against what should be one of the nation's best secondaries in 2024. How far will Brown push the competition in the fall? That's the X factor.
Will Alabama transfer Julian Sayin be a factor in the QB competition?
The excitement around Sayin is tangible. The five-star quarterback from Carlsbad (Calif.) High School transferred from Alabama after Nick Saban retired, and he has the pedigree to be a first-round pick in the future. Sayin's quick release is noticeable, and the talent is there.
Sayin finished 10 of 17 for 85 yards and an interception.
He will need more time to develop before becoming the starter, however. Sayin threw an interception and took three sacks in the game, but this is not a Quinn Ewers-type situation. Ewers reclassified and signed with Ohio State in 2021. He appeared in one game as a third-string quarterback at Ohio State behind C.J. Stroud before transferring back to Texas.
Jaylen McClain picks off fellow freshman Julian Sayin in the spring game. pic.twitter.com/04OHiSVXBB
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 13, 2024
The questions around Sayin will be louder in 2025, but it feels like he could slide up into a backup role if either Howard or Brown transfers, which is unlikely. Of course, Lincoln Kienholz and Air Noland are competing for reps. Kienhold was 10 of 17 for 71 yards and two interceptions, and Noland was 5 of 7 for 47 yards and an interception.
Will Ohio State QBs enter the spring portal?
The transfer portal is open from April 16-30, and that could answer some of these questions. Kyle McCord passed for 3,170 yards, 24 TDs and six interceptions and was 11-1 as a starter, then transferred to Syracuse.
It seems unlikely that Howard would enter the portal again knowing he chose Ohio State over USC, Miami and the 2024 NFL Draft. Brown has remained adamant that he is not transferring, so that likely means he will stay on for the fall competition.
Will one of Sayin, Kienholz and Noland transfer? That's the intriguing question over the next two weeks. How do you split up reps among five quarterbacks while trying to win a national championship?
This is a pressure-packed season for Ohio State, which likely will be ranked no lower than No. 2 in the preseason polls this summer. The Buckeyes are trying to end a three-game losing to Michigan and respond to the Wolverines' national championship run last season. Since Day was hired as a co-offensive coordinator in 2017, Ohio State has had three quarterbacks who were both Heisman Trophy finalists and first-round picks in Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud. That high level of play dropped off last season. That's a high bar for Howard or Brown to meet in 2024.
