Evaluating the Ohio State QB room, predicting who could enter the NCAA Transfer Portal

With the transfer portal back open, some position rooms, especially stacked ones, are likely going to see a few losses as a few players make jumps to another program. That list very well could including the quarterback spot at Ohio State considering just how much talent is among their five names.

On3’s Andy Staples and Pete Nakos spoke about the Buckeyes’ quarterback competition and who might end up in the portal because of the eventual result of it on Tuesday. To Staples, he set the line at one for total quarterbacks transferring from Columbus at some point. He did so just because of the math, even if none of the five actually wants to leave.

“The Ohio State quarterback situation is interesting, Pete, because it doesn’t feel like everybody is just ready to jump in the portal,” Staples said. “We’ll go over the guys. Will Howard just got there from Kansas State. He’s probably the starter. He’s not going anywhere. Devin Brown is coming back. You’ve got Lincoln Kienholz. You’ve got the two freshmen – Air Noland and Julian Sayin. So that’s five. Usually the number you want is four so I’m going to put the over/under at one.”

Nakos didn’t make a bet on that line but did highlight Brown, Kienholz, and Noland as the most likely to transfer amongst the group. Still, it also wouldn’t shock him if all five in total remained at Ohio State.

“I think Julian Sayin stays, I think Will Howard stays. I think the question marks then surround Air Noland, Devin Brown, and Lincoln Kienholz,” said Nakos. “If you told me all stayed, I would not be surprised.”

Howard is the presumed starter after he transferred in from K-State out of the portal. He arrives with 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns on 58.8% completion over his career in the Wildcats.

Howard joined a quarterback room that already had Brown and Kienholz in it. Brown, who competed for last year’s starting role with Kyle McCord, is entering his third season with the program. Meanwhile, Kienholz, who ended up seeing a lot of action in last year’s bowl game, enters his second. That’s not to mention the freshman additions of Air Noland, a four-star who committed to Ohio State first in their class, and then Julian Sayin, a five-star who came in from Alabama’s class following Nick Saban’s retirement and impressed.

That’s a lot of quality players in one room, especially when only one can see the field at a time. Still, while that would normally lead to an obvious transfer, Staples is seeing patience from the group. He thinks they all realize that the job, regardless of what happens this fall, is very likely to be open again next spring, which is when one of them can truly make their move.

“That’s the thing because Will Howard looks like – he’s got one year of eligibility. So that means the Ohio State quarterback job, even if you don’t win it this year? It is open again next year,” explained Staples. “I still – I don’t know about you, Pete. I still think there is a lot of value in being the backup quarterback at a Tiffany-type program, especially in this day and age of the quarterback running so much. Like, there’s a very good chance you’re going to start games. We saw that last year with Texas. Like, you probably are going to be called upon. You’re probably going to be needed.”

“If you think there’s a chance that you can be the number-two guy, like in Devin Brown’s situation? Do it!” Staples said.

Nakos agreed but viewed it in regards to how comfortable they currently all are. Rather than trying to go elsewhere now and making something happen for a new program, coach, and offense, he thinks they’re all inclined to stay with the Buckeyes, at least for this year, and then each reevaluate where they stand at the end of next season, specifically since more openings will be there in that portal cycle than in this current one.

“I view it a little differently too and I’m interested to hear your take on this. Maybe they don’t want to get thrown into a situation where they’re not comfortable, maybe they don’t want to go learn a playbook in three months,” said Nakos. “Maybe they think the best situation is to go through another offseason with Chip Kelly and Ryan Day, two of the brighter quarterback minds in the game. Then really evaluate what their future is in December when there’s going to be more starting jobs open.”

Staples concurred as well considering how tough it can be for a transfer quarterback to catch up at this part of the year and how portal additions like that can destabilize a team.

“I think that’s the right way to talk about it because we talked about this yesterday. When you pull that quarterback in post-spring, that person is behind the eight ball,” said Staples. “They’ve got to learn the offense. You brought them in presumably to play. That’s a lot of pressure on them.”

“It also creates a weird situation with the rest of the quarterback room where you may end up running off some other quarterbacks who are already on the roster,” Staples noted. “Coaches have to tread very, very carefully right now with the quarterback position. Like, if you aren’t sure that person you’re bringing in can come in and start, you’ve got to be careful. You’ve got to think very hard about what you want to do.”

The fact of the matter is Ohio State’s quarterback would normally be ripe for the picking in the portal. However, that might not be the case with how this quintet is and could continue to approach the competition amongst themselves.