Is Ohio State starting QB competition over? What's the Buckeyes' floor of success? (2024)

After a busy offseason, football season is finally here.

Ohio State starts camp on Thursday, which makes this week the perfect time for our last offseason mailbag.

Let’s get started.

Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Is there any sort of a quarterback competition? I’ve only heard/seen Will Howard. Along with that, has Julian Sayin’s presence changed anything in Air Noland’s mind about staying in the program? — Billy B.

Ryan Day has been pretty open about there still being a battle at quarterback. I think you’ve mainly heard about Howard because he transferred and there’s this idea that if he came to Ohio State for his final year he must start. I don’t think that’s the case, but I do think he’ll be the starting quarterback in Week 1 because he’s the best option. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Day waits until after the Week 3 bye to name a starter.

Two games followed by an early bye is the perfect timeline to close a quarterback competition.

As for Noland, I think it says a lot that he didn’t transfer after the spring. That’s not to say he won’t next year — anything can happen — but he’s enjoying Ohio State and will likely be fifth on the depth chart to start the year.

Play calling is Chip Kelly’s decision, right? How will Coach Day deal with that and will he still have the final say? — Mike L.

Yes, play calling is Kelly’s responsibility.

But will Day have the final say on everything? No. Day will be heavily involved in planning meetings during the season and I’m sure he’ll have input on the opening scripts, but Day hired Kelly because he trusts him. Day has more to worry about than giving approval to Kelly on whether to run an RPO or a stretch call on every third-and-2.

Archie Griffin will “dot the I” later this year; deservedly so. Who would you nominate for such recognition? — Robert G.

Jim Tressel would be a great person to do it, especially since he’s not the Youngstown State president anymore.

They should let James Laurinaitis do it next year if he gets this entire 2025 linebacker class to sign in December. That’s a joke, kind of …

Given the offensive line concerns this year, is Josh Simmons staying healthy the most important thing for the Bucks this year? I don’t know if there is a bigger drop-off in talent at a key position on the team. — Kevin W.

If we’re talking strictly about a drop-off upfront because of injury, I would go with Donovan Jackson. While I think Simmons will be very good, especially considering the way he ended the season, I’d give the nod slightly to Jackson.

If Simmons gets hurt you can move Josh Fryar to left tackle, which isn’t ideal but at least he has starting experience, and then put Tegra Tshabola at right tackle.

What do you do if Jackson gets hurt? Right now, we’re looking at a starting group with Fryar at right tackle and possibly Tshabola or Carson Hinzman at right guard. If we keep that the same, then do you move Hinzman to left guard if he loses the battle to Tshabola? Or do you put in Luke Montgomery, who, though talented, might not be ready?

I also think Jackson is a potential All-American this year. He struggled at times last season, but I think that had more to do with getting adjusted to Simmons than anything. Jackson played 802 snaps last year, gave up one sack and just nine pressures last season, tied for 53rd nationally among guards who played at least 600 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.

A healthy Jackson makes things easier for whoever plays left tackle. I think Simmons has the shot to shoot up draft boards this year, but I wouldn’t want to test even the thought of Simmons getting adjusted to a guard who isn’t as consistent as Jackson.

Maxwell Preseason Watch List for 3 Buckeyes 💥
@quinshon_ @emeka_egbuka @whoward_ pic.twitter.com/yHeGRZXrzf

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) July 29, 2024

Assuming generally good health, what is the floor for this team? — Mike S.

The floor is a College Football Playoff quarterfinal appearance.

Ohio State enters the year as the Big Ten favorite, and if it wins the conference it will most likely get a bye to the quarterfinals. And even if it doesn’t, this team is good enough to win a first-round game even if it’s on the road.

Defense is the thing that stands out because when the offense struggles on the road, defense can usually travel well.

How much will Ohio State rotate on defense? Several positions had almost zero rotation whatsoever unless injury forced their hand, but in a world where Ohio State is hoping to play as many as 6-7 games against top-10 teams (Oregon, PSU, Michigan, Big Ten title, three CFP games) and 16 games total, can it really stick with that limited of a rotation? — Joseph S.

I don’t think Ohio State can win a national championship without rotating more on defense this season. Everybody in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center knows that too.

I think you’ll see starters come out of blowout games sooner than in years past, especially toward the end of the season. There’s no reason to keep J.T. Tuimioloau on the field in a 30-point blowout against Indiana on Nov. 23.

Ohio State is also extremely deep this year and Jim Knowles knows he has no choice but to rotate players in. Linebacker is going to be at least three deep from the start, maybe four if Gabe Powers has a good fall camp.

The defensive line is where I’m looking the most because Knowles and Larry Johnson can’t afford for the rotation to be Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton all year long. That will leave too much uncertainty in the future, but it also won’t get the job done now. I expect to see a lot of Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. this year. I also think Knowles will mix in Mitchell Melton and find some way to use the “Jack” position, especially after losing four-star Justin Hill to Alabama this cycle. Then inside, there are some guys who he can use to get snaps like Hero Kanu, Kayden MacDonald and Twyone Malone.

The Buckeyes will rotate this year, but if they don’t do too much in the opener don’t panic. This will be worked out gradually throughout the season.

What scenario(s) would have to play out for Julian Sayin to become the starter midway through the season? — Andy M.

I really like Sayin as a quarterback and think he has an extremely bright future, but I don’t think there’s any way he takes over the starting job this season. If he does, that means things have gone very bad for the Buckeyes.

But for the sake of the mailbag here’s the only way I see it happening: Will Howard and Devin Brown get injured either in fall camp or during the season. Day goes through a competition with Lincoln Kienholz and Sayin and picks Sayin because he’s the better of the two.

To me, that’s the only way.

There’s no instance in which Day would have to bench Howard and Brown if both are healthy. Day wouldn’t make that move unless the season is too far gone and, let’s be honest, Ohio State isn’t going to lose in September and should be undefeated going to Oregon on Oct. 12.

I understand the love for Sayin, and he should get blowout snaps before competing for the job next year.

Curious, what do you think Ohio State’s record this season would be against Florida’s schedule? — Jordan H.

Florida’s schedule is pretty crazy…

For the sake of this, I’m going to assume we’re keeping home and away games the same, so I’ll say Ohio State goes undefeated at home. It would beat Miami to open the year and other than that, the biggest challenges are LSU and Ole Miss. The Buckeyes win those games.

I think overall, though, they go 10-2.

Ohio State goes to Tennessee and beats the Vols, but I can’t give it a win at Georgia. The one I flip-flopped on is the game at Texas. I think the Buckeyes are a tier above Texas, although the Longhorns will probably be a top-five preseason team. Winning at Texas, though, isn’t easy and that’s the only reason I’ll lean in favor of the Longhorns.

Still, I think Ohio State goes 10-2, which isn’t bad considering I think they go 11-1 or 10-2 at worst this season, so not much changes.

Everyone has Oregon and Michigan circled on the calendar but what other game(s) could be sneaky tough? — Andy C.

The Iowa game is going to be a good one. The Hawkeyes could be a Playoff team if the offense is at least average. That will be a challenge for whichever quarterback wins the job.

Nebraska in Columbus could be interesting, but that depends on how five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola is playing.

Lastly, Ohio State going to Wrigley Field to play Northwestern on Nov. 16 could be a nasty game. Playing in Chicago in November is never easy as I’m sure many of you remember the 2022 game that ended 21-7 after being played in a monsoon.

Any thoughts or concerns about Brian Hartline’s recruiting class this year? — Brent W.

No concerns really.

I know there was hope Ohio State could get a commitment from one of Vernell Brown, Dakorien Moore or Jaime FFrench, this summer, but I’m not too surprised.

Ohio State’s roster is built for the future right now with Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, Mylan Graham and Bryson Rodgers all with at least two years of eligibility left before the draft.

All were four-star recruits or higher and the thing with recruiting at that level is that there’s going to be a down year because recruits don’t always want to wait their turn.

This class is still good with four-stars Quincy Porter and De’Zie Jones and in-state three-star Bodpegn Miller. The 2026 class is already off to a good start with Chris Henry, the top player in the class.

Hartline is doing just fine and Ohio State is still in a position to fight for Wide Reciever U right now and in the future.

What do you think the wide receiver depth chart will look like? — Nathan H.

I’d guess that by August 31 we’re looking at a starting wide receiver corps of Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith.

From there I think Brandon Inniss is next with Jayden Ballard and Bryson Rodgers rounding out the second-team depth chart.

Ohio State is probably four deep right now with Inniss but is hoping Rodgers and Ballard can force their way onto the field, as well.

What commitment announcements are coming up that we should be paying attention to? — Braden R.

David Sanders Jr. is the biggest one. The top tackle and the No. 2 player in the country is expected to announce his decision on Aug. 17 and the Buckeyes are in his final five choices. Sanders, though, went on visits to Tennessee and Nebraska in July, which has some thinking Sanders is leaning toward one of those two schools. Ohio State offensive line coach Justin Frye is still pushing for Sanders, though. He knows how important this recruitment is to the program and would ultimately help his job security.

(Top photo: Robert Goddin / USA Today)

Cameron Teague is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the Ohio State Buckeyes. Before joining The Athletic, he worked as a features writer for The Columbus Dispatch and a beat writer covering Louisville football for the Courier Journal. He’s a graduate of Bowling Green State University. Follow Cameron on Twitter @cj_teague