Julian Sayin needed a strong showing in the spring game to stake his claim to Ohio State’s starting quarterback job, and he delivered.
The redshirt freshman who was ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class looked the part on Saturday as he completed 17 of his 24 passing attempts for 175 yards in the spring game, leading the offense to touchdowns on each of his first three drives in the en route to a 50-31 win for the Scarlet team, which was represented by the offense against the Gray defense.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCARLET | 14 | 10 | 10 | 16 | 50 |
| GRAY | 4 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 31 |
| APRIL 12, 2025 • Ohio STADIUM • Columbus, Ohio | |||||
Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz split reps with the first- and second-team offenses in the spring game. Kienholz also had a good showing, completing 12 of his 18 passing attempts for 158 yards. Two of those resulted in touchdowns as Mylan Graham turned a slant over the middle into a 51-yard catch-and-run to the end zone and Sam Williams-Dixon got wide open for a touchdown catch from intermediate distance.
Freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair ran the third-team offense. He threw the day’s only two interceptions as he was picked off by fellow freshman Faheem Delane and walk-on cornerback Brenton “Inky” Jones, but capped off the scrimmage with a touchdown pass to Phillip Bell on the game’s final play. St. Clair completed 11 of 15 throws for 116 yards.
Tavien St. Clair picked off by Faheem Delane here in the Ohio State spring game pic.twitter.com/wCCtCj4drC
— Seth Bailey (@SethBailey04) April 12, 2025
Six Buckeyes score touchdowns
The first two touchdowns of the spring game were scored by offseason transfer additions. After Gray scored the game’s first three points by forcing a 3-and-out from the offense, which was led by Kienholz for the opening drive, West Virginia transfer running back CJ Donaldson had a pair of lengthy runs on his first drive in the game and capped the game’s second possession with a run into the end zone.
Touchdown for Scarlet pic.twitter.com/uTKqok5r56
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 12, 2025
Going up against the first-team defense on the next drive, Purdue transfer tight end Max Klare got open over the middle and Sayin connected with him on a long throw for the day’s first touchdown pass.
TE Max Klare found the end zone in the first-half for his first @OhioStateFB TD #B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/3hbjOj6Rdp
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) April 12, 2025
Freshman running back Bo Jackson scored the game’s third touchdown as he capped off Sayin’s third drive in the game with a short run into the end zone.
| QUARTERBACK | COMP/ATT | YDS | TD/INT |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. SAYIN | 17/24 | 158 | 2/0 |
| L. KIENHOLZ | 12/18 | 175 | 1/0 |
| T. ST. CLAIR | 11/15 | 116 | 1/2 |
| TOTAL | 40/57 | 449 | 4/2 |
Graham, who was also playing in his first spring game after enrolling at Ohio State last summer, had the longest touchdown and offensive play of the day when he made multiple defenders miss on his way to the end zone for his 51-yard score, continuing what’s been an excellent spring for the redshirt freshman wide receiver as he had four catches on seven targets for 104 yards.
Williams-Dixon and Bell – another true freshman – each scored touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Jayden Fielding went 3-for-3 on field goals, with the longest coming from 43 yards out, to add nine more points for the Scarlet offense to put a 50-burger on the board.
Another tuddy @SamuelDixon24 edition pic.twitter.com/vKewrvd9qB
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 12, 2025
Stat Leaders
Passing
- Julian Sayin: 16-24, 175 yards, 1 TD
- Lincoln Kienholz: 12-18, 158 yards, 2 TD
- Tavien St. Clair: 11-15, 116 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
- Bo Jackson: 13 rush, 88 yards, 1 TD
- Sam Williams-Dixon: 11 rush, 64 yards
- CJ Donaldson: 4 rush, 35 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
- Mylan Graham: 4 catches, 104 yards, 1 TD
- Quincy Porter: 4 catches, 50 yards
- Nate Roberts: 4 catches, 41 yards
All statistics courtesy of Ohio State and unofficial
Game Notes
- Seven Buckeyes were unavailable for the game due to injuries: TE Will Kacmarek, QB Mason Maggs, RB Isaiah West, DE Joshua Mickens, LB Garrett Stover, S Deshawn Stewart, S Keenan Nelson Jr.
- The scoring format for the spring game was traditional scoring for the offense (six points for a touchdown, three points for a field goal and one point for an extra point) while the defense received six points for a touchdown, three points for a takeaway, three points for a three-and-out, two points for a sack and one point for a forced punt.
- The starters for the Scarlet offense were QB Lincoln Kienholz, RB James Peoples, WR Jeremiah Smith, WR Carnell Tate, WR Bryson Rodgers, TE Jelani Thurman, LT Ethan Onianwa, LG Luke Montgomery, C Carson Hinzman, RG Tegra Tshabola and RT Austin Siereveld.
- The starters for the Gray defense were DE Kenyatta Jackson Jr., DE Caden Curry, DT Kayden McDonald, DT Eddrick Houston, LB Sonny Styles, LB Arvell Reese, CB Davison Igbinosun, CB Jermaine Mathews Jr., CB Lorenzo Styles Jr., S Caleb Downs and S Malik Hartford.
- The 2024 national champions received their championship rings between the first and second quarters.
- 40,136 people attended the spring game.
