Ohio State’s backup quarterback competition is ongoing days before the Buckeyes open against Ball State on Sept. 5.
Coach Ryan Day said Tavien St. Clair and Luke Fahey will continue to split reps with the second-team offense in practices this week.
“If we can get them both reps in the game, we’ll try to do that,” Day said. “We’ll just kind of see how the game goes.”
Day did not divulge whether St. Clair or Fahey has an edge to emerge as the No. 2 quarterback behind Julian Sayin.
While St. Clair has a year of experience in the program and was a prized five-star recruit from Bellefontaine when he enrolled at Ohio State in 2025, he did not immediately slide up the depth chart during the offseason following Lincoln Kienholz’s transfer to Louisville.
Fahey's swift adaptation to Ohio State as a freshman has made for a tight competition. A former three-star recruit from Southern California, he pushed St. Clair to be the backup throughout preseason training camp.
“Both have shown bright spots,” Day said last week.
Day has named a backup quarterback in recent years, following competitions for the starting job, but the Buckeyes went into seasons early in his tenure without him publicly identifying who was No. 2 on the depth chart.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football's backup QB competition remains unsettled days ahead of season opener
