We may soon know the starting quarterback for Ohio State, at least according to comments head coach Ryan Day made to the Big Ten Network crew when it was in town to preview Ohio State during one of its fall camp practices last week.
So far, all indications and comments have confirmed that it’s a two-man, tight race between former five-star recruit Julian Sayin and rising junior Lincoln Kienholz. Nobody on the coaching staff or team has made any comments about either guy leading the race, and in fact, when we saw the Buckeyes in the first few days of fall camp, the reps were indeed split pretty evenly between the two, with both getting a shot with the first-team offense.
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However, according to Day, he would like to have a decision made with time for the team to get acclimated and accustomed to the leader under center in time to prepare for the season opener against Texas on August 30. When speaking with the BTN, he said a decision could come as early as the end of next week.
“I’d like to see them continue to compete throughout this week, maybe into next week, Day told BTN. “But you’d like to have an idea of who that guy’s going to be for at least a couple weeks heading into the first game.”
We’ve seen similar timelines with Day making a decision through quarterback battles before, with the competition between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown being the only one that went into the season. Unless neither can grab the starting job, it looks like we’ll see something similar this season with both showing progress and moments this fall. All things being equal, it may come down to which guy takes care of the ball the best.
“They both have had good moments and moments where they’re growing, but the competition continues,” Day told the BTN crew. “I will say that I’ve been pleased with the progress. We’re not where we need to be. But if they continue to learn from the mistakes they’re making and continue to grow off the plays that they’re doing well and moving the offense and taking care of the football, then it’s going to go right down to the wire. But ultimately, they got to take care of the football.”
We’ll keep an eye on this as we progress throughout the week, and if anything is announced, we’ll be all over it. Tick, tick, tick …
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State coach Ryan Day sets timeline for quarterback decision
