As he enters his second season at Ohio State, Tavien St. Clair is prioritizing his long-term development over immediate gratification.
With Julian Sayin returning for a second year as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, St. Clair will have to wait until 2027 – assuming Sayin enters next year’s NFL draft – for his chance to compete for the Buckeyes’ starting job. But the five-star prospect from Bellefontaine is excited about continuing to develop under the leadership of Ryan Day, Ohio State quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler and the rest of the Buckeyes’ coaching staff.
“However long it takes, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here,” St. Clair said during Ohio State’s media day before the Cotton Bowl. “I'm learning a ton of things behind Julian this year. So just continuing to grow and continuing to add things to my value that I can add to my skill set from Julian's game and from Lincoln (Kienholz)'s game and from Coach Day's knowledge and Coach Fess' knowledge, I'm just really excited to learn and continue to grow for my journey.”
The expectation when St. Clair arrived at Ohio State last year was always that Sayin would be Ohio State’s starting quarterback for 2025 and 2026, setting up St. Clair to be Sayin’s successor in 2027 after two years of development. So far, St. Clair’s career remains on that trajectory. While he was Ohio State’s No. 3 quarterback last season, he’s in line to be the Buckeyes’ No. 2 QB in 2026 after Kienholz transferred to Louisville.
That puts real pressure on St. Clair, who attempted just two passes with no completions as a true freshman, to be ready to play in 2026 as Ohio State’s next man up at quarterback.
“Tavien is someone that really has to step up for us,” Ryan Day said on his radio show in January. “He's going to have to be right there behind Julian and be ready to go. The schedule that we're playing next year, as you guys know, you've seen what it looks like, and so Tavien's got to really take the next step.”
Day indicated on several occasions throughout last season that St. Clair still had a long way to go in his development as he made the jump from playing Division III high school football in Ohio to playing at Ohio State. But Day remains a big believer in the potential of St. Clair, who was ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class.
“We see the talent. We know that he can throw it. He's big and strong and all those things. So this offseason will be critical for him,” Day said. “He did a great job (in 2025) of going down to the scout team, competing, going against the best defense in the country every day in practice. So all that stuff really is going to add up to having a big spring and preseason for him.”
St. Clair remains confident that Ohio State is the place for him to become the best quarterback he can be.
“It all goes back to the reason I committed here in the first place. I felt like the development at the quarterback position was the best in the country,” St. Clair said. “If you stick to the process and you stay consistent here, good things will happen for you in the back end. And it's been really fun, really exciting to be a part of what Julian's been able to experience this year, and we're just really looking forward to seeing his growth over the next part of his journey.”
“However long it takes, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here.”– Tavien St. Clair on embracing the development process at Ohio State
While St. Clair spent most of his freshman year practicing with the scout team, he said he’s worked hard to earn his teammates’ trust and to take advantage of the opportunities he’s gotten.
“I want to instill confidence in my teammates around me and in the coaches around me. I feel like I took a step in that direction that I wanted to take a step in. And just really ready for whatever opportunity comes,” St. Clair said.
St. Clair said he’s learned about how to be a better decision-maker and how to prepare for defenses from watching Sayin, a process that will now continue in St. Clair’s second year as a Buckeye.
“Really just learning to let the game come to you. You can manipulate defenses and continue to play your game at a high level just with your preparation,” St. Clair said. “I think Julian does a great job in his preparation before games, really understanding what the other team's trying to do to us and things like that. He just allows his eyes to dictate where the ball goes, and he's done a really good job of that.”
