With Ohio State’s first 15 practices of the year in the books, we now have a better idea of who’s on the rise and where things stand for the Buckeyes at every position group entering the 2026 season.
New Buckeyes were on the field at every position this spring as 51 new Ohio State players were part of the team that went through the Buckeyes’ March and April practices. There were plenty of newcomers and returning Buckeyes alike who stood out on each side of the ball as players competed for position on the depth chart and looked to prove they can make an impact for OSU this season.
With the Buckeyes currently in a break from on-field activity before summer workouts ramp up in a few weeks, we’re taking a position-by-position look at who stood out this spring, what questions still linger after spring, how the depth chart currently stacks up and the overall outlook for each position going into the summer.
Our Spring Recap series begins at quarterback. While there was no competition for a starting job this spring, there was still plenty of intrigue surrounding the position as Julian Sayin looks to take the next step in year two at Ohio State, while Tavien St. Clair moved toward establishing himself as Sayin’s eventual successor.
Spring Standout
Tavien St. Clair
In his second spring as a Buckeye, St. Clair firmly established himself as Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback for the 2026 season and demonstrated why he was one of the top quarterbacks in the 2025 recruiting class.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman from Bellefontaine put his arm strength and athleticism on display all spring, particularly in the spring game, in which he completed a trio of deep balls highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown pass to Chris Henry Jr. Most importantly, St. Clair looked more confident and composed running the offense this spring, showing he’s caught up to the speed of the college game going into year two.
“I had meetings with (quarterbacks coach Billy) Fessler and (head coach Ryan) Day prior to this spring. That was something they wanted to see from me and that was something I wanted for myself as well, just to be more confident, to go out there and be in control of the offense,” St. Clair told Eleven Warriors in April. “And I just feel like, through my preparation that as quarterbacks, all the work we've put in and things like that in the offseason, it's helped me to go out there and be confident and execute on the field.”
St. Clair still isn’t processing defenses as quickly as Sayin, and he still needs to be more consistent as a short to intermediate thrower, as he completed only nine of his 21 passing attempts in the spring game with multiple passes that could have been interceptions. But he did what he needed to do this spring to secure his position as the first quarterback off the bench behind Sayin while demonstrating the physical tools – particularly as a deep thrower and as a mobile QB who can make plays with his feet – to be a future star for Ohio State.
Lingering Question
Will Julian Sayin threaten defenses with his legs?
While Sayin was already one of college football’s best passers last season, leading the nation with a 77% completion rate, Day publicly challenged Ohio State’s starting quarterback to improve as a runner this spring.
“His strength, as we all know, is that the ball comes out accurately in throwing the football, but making an impact with his legs when appropriate, we know that that's the X factor that has to show up this year,” Day said after the first day of spring practice.
Sayin seemingly responded well to that challenge. The second-year starter showed improved mobility in practices that were open to the media as well as the spring game, in which he ran for a touchdown on the scrimmage’s opening drive.
Julian Sayin runs in the first TD of @OhioStateFB's Scarlet vs. Gray spring game
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 18, 2026
: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/76yLYcxjB1
That said, it’s easier to look comfortable as a runner when you’re wearing a non-contact jersey and defenders aren’t allowed to tackle you, as was Sayin’s environment all spring. So while Sayin showed this spring that he’s more capable of extending plays with his feet and taking off for yardage than he showed last season, we won’t really know how that translates to live action until at least the first game of the year – and probably not really until the second game of the year, as Ohio State will need Sayin to be a dual threat against Texas far more than it will need him to take off and run vs. Ball State.
“It's hard when he's not live, and we were not going to make him live today. But it's been an emphasis point, and you can see that he's aware of that and looking to do some of that,” Day said after the spring game. “He's moved well this spring, but certainly, it's a lot different when you're live. And so that's going to be the challenge for him all summer, to continue to work on pocket presence and then making plays with his legs.”
Depth Chart Projection
1. Julian Sayin
2. Tavien St. Clair
3. Justyn Martin
4. Luke Fahey
After Sayin led the first-team offense and St. Clair ran the second unit all spring, the only real question that remains on the quarterback depth chart exiting spring is whether Martin or Fahey will be Ohio State’s No. 3 quarterback. Fahey flashed his upside in the spring game by running for a 61-yard touchdown on one of the contest’s final plays, but Martin took most of the third-team reps ahead of Fahey this spring and was the stronger passer in other practices that were open to the media.
That competition could continue through preseason camp, but Martin’s experience as a fifth-year senior, paired with a big arm and plenty of size at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, gives the former UCLA and Maryland quarterback the edge to be Ohio State’s next-next man up.
Post-Spring Outlook
For the first time in four years, Ohio State had the luxury of going through spring practices with an established starting quarterback. That’s an especially great luxury when that quarterback is coming off a season in which he had the third-highest single-season completion percentage in FBS history.
There’s been plenty of discourse over the past four months about how good Sayin is due to the struggles he and Ohio State’s offense had in their postseason losses to Indiana and Miami, but he’s undeniably one of the best quarterbacks in college football, especially in terms of passing accuracy. He’s capable of being the best quarterback in college football this season, though he has to do a better job of handling pressure in the pocket and seeing the middle of the field against top defenses.
Beyond Sayin, St. Clair looks far more ready to play as needed than he did a year ago while demonstrating the potential to be Ohio State’s next star quarterback after Sayin moves on to the NFL, while Martin adds valuable experience to the depth chart behind them.
In an era where the transfer portal makes it harder than ever before to accumulate quarterback depth, Ohio State’s quarterback room is as strong as anyone could reasonably expect it to be, with the nation’s top returning quarterback from last season leading a unit that includes Day’s target number of four scholarship passers.
