Lincoln Kienholz was disappointed he didn’t win Ohio State’s starting quarterback job, but that only made him hungrier to prove himself when he got his first opportunity to play this season.
That first opportunity came last weekend against Grambling State, and Kienholz took advantage of it. The third-year quarterback from South Dakota, who didn’t throw a pass in 2024 as Ohio State’s fourth-string quarterback, completed six of seven passing attempts for 71 yards and his first career touchdown pass while also running for 10 yards on two carries.
“I made the most of it. I went out there and just did the best I could, just trying to put the team in the best spot to go out and score,” Kienholz said. “I think overall, I did well. I think also there's one incompletion that I could have probably made, but other than that, it was solid.
“It honestly felt really fun just to go out there,” Kienholz added. “Just making the plays I did, scoring a touchdown and also just leading the team down every time I guess I was in and scoring, I think it was honestly really fun and I enjoyed it a lot.”
Kienholz, who met with the media on Wednesday for the first time since Julian Sayin won the starting quarterback job, admits it was hard to accept he wouldn’t be the Buckeyes’ starter this year. But Ohio State’s coaches have reminded their No. 2 quarterback that he’s just one play away from entering the game at all times, and the Buckeyes’ backup has taken that message to heart.
“I think it's really important to go out there and prepare like the starter,” Kienholz said. “I've talked to multiple coaches and they all say that I'm one play away from going in there, and they want me to be ready and just make the most of that opportunity.”
Kienholz’s first opportunity to play this season went far better than his last opportunity to see extended action for the Buckeyes. As a true freshman in the Cotton Bowl to end the 2023 season, Kienholz was thrust into action after Devin Brown – who started the game after Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal – suffered an ankle injury that took him out of the game. Kienholz hadn’t gotten many reps with the first-team offense leading up to that game, and it showed as he completed just six of 17 passes for 86 yards in Ohio State’s 14-3 loss to Missouri.
Now in his third year as a Buckeye, Kienholz said he feels far more comfortable running the offense and making plays against collegiate defenses.
“It's honestly a little bit of everything,” Kienholz said of how he’s improved. “I think coverage identification is probably the biggest one that has kind of slowed down for me. Also, just seeing where people are, seeing routes develop, just everything like that is starting to slow down.”
Every Lincoln Kienholz throw/run vs Grambling. First time hes gotten extended run since 2023 cotton bowl as a freshman pic.twitter.com/mIuHZXryZY
— Brodie (@SadOSUhoopsFan) September 8, 2025
Ryan Day was impressed by how Kienholz performed in his first game appearance of the season, though Day wasn’t surprised by it because of how Kienholz has performed in practice.
“He graded out a champion,” Day said of Kienholz. “You saw him run a couple of the short yardage, and then he pulled it on the read. And so he's a good athlete. I think he made some good decisions. He threw the ball well.”
While Sayin has cemented himself as Ohio State’s starter with his performance in the Buckeyes’ first two games, in which he completed 31 of 39 passes for 432 yards and five touchdowns with one interception, Day emphasized this week that Kienholz brings value to the Buckeyes, too.
“He's an important part of the team, and we're going to need him. We're going to need both he and Julian this year. And we'll keep figuring out how that fits,” Day said. “But I think he had a good week of practice last week. And if he can piggyback the game that he had on Saturday with another really solid week here, I think that's good for the team.
“We'll see what that means moving forward. But I know we're going to need him. He's a good leader. Guys respect him. He's a good athlete. He's a good player. So he's working hard at it. And he knows at some point he's going to get his chance. And when he does, he's got to continue to keep pushing and make the best of it. I got a lot of respect for Linc, and I think that room is pretty tight.”
Given his athleticism and running ability, Day has left the door open for potentially using Kienholz in situational packages. Kienholz said he didn’t know whether that will actually happen, but he’s eager for every opportunity he can get to play.
“I'm just going to go out there each and every week if I get the opportunity and just try to ball out,” Kienholz said.
In the meantime, Kienholz says he’ll support Sayin and do what he can to help Ohio State’s starting quarterback succeed.
“I'm going to keep pushing Julian. Just keep making sure he's on his stuff,” Kienholz said. “And also be a guy to help him if he needs anything. I'm going to be there to answer questions and stuff like that.”
