Better Know a Buckeye: Tavien St. Clair Already Has the Size and Intangibles to Be the Next Star Quarterback at Ohio State

For the sixth consecutive year, Ohio State's 26-man 2025 recruiting class – its largest since it also had 26 in 2020 – finished as a top-five class in the country, ending with the fourth-ranked class in the cycle, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Leading the way, Tavien St. Clair went from a small-town quarterback in Ohio to being ranked as one of the best prospects in his class in less than two years. The do-it-all signal-caller is the top-ranked prospect in the Buckeyes' 2025 class as the No. 7 overall player (No. 3 quarterback) in the cycle.

How He Became a Buckeye

A lifelong Ohio State fan, St. Clair was always meant to be a Buckeye.

St. Clair's name started becoming a familiar one around Columbus in 2022 when he made the 50-minute trek to campus for camps that summer. After two camps and two gameday visits that fall, St. Clair received his dream offer from Ohio State on May 24, 2023, joining fellow Ohio quarterback Ryan Montgomery and Michigan five-star Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked quarterback in the class, as 2025 signal-callers who had been offered by Ohio State.

Less than a month later, St. Clair committed to the Buckeyes on June 21, 2023, not only giving Ryan Day his quarterback in the 2025 class but also a player who could help lead his peers throughout the cycle.

“I took a visit to (OSU) last Thursday, and listening to the coaches tell me I was their number one priority and they wanted me to be a Buckeye, it felt like it meant more to me,” St. Clair said after his commitment. “Being a kid from Ohio, that's what you dream of, being a Buckeye. It's 50 minutes down the road, family can watch whenever they want ... it just seems like the right fit for me.”

Staying close to home and achieving his lifelong dream of playing for the Buckeyes certainly made it an easy choice, but Day and company's ability to develop quarterbacks played a role in the decision as well.

"Just the developmental side, Ohio State's better than anyone developing quarterbacks in the past 10 years," St. Clair said. "Just seeing where they take quarterbacks at the next level is probably the reason I chose here."

At the time of his commitment, St. Clair was considered the 25th-best quarterback (No. 333 overall) in the 2025 class. But Ohio State saw early on that he had the potential to be one of the best quarterbacks in his class.

Whether it was attending as many camps at Ohio State as possible with his team, being on campus for all of the Buckeyes' home games after he committed or his leadership in OSU's class, St. Clair was the epitome of an Ohio kid becoming a Buckeye and wanting the best of the best to join him in Columbus.

He became the first in-state quarterback to sign with the Buckeyes out of high school since Joe Burrow in 2015.

High School Years

St. Clair showcased his talent the moment he stepped on the high school football field. In six starts (12 games) as a freshman, he completed 122-of-222 passes (54.9%) for 1,722 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

As a sophomore, St. Clair helped lead Bellefontaine to an 8-3 record by completing 208-of-294 passes (70.7%) for 2,453 yards, 25 touchdowns to only four interceptions. He was a Division III All-Ohio second-team selection.

While he already showcased plenty of ability to develop in just one year, it was his progress off the field ahead of his junior season that raised St. Clair's ceiling. He transformed his body in one year, going from 180 pounds to 216 pounds entering his junior year, which played a big part in his earning an Ohio State offer.

"Right after basketball season, I started working out five to six times a week at 5 a.m., I really started upping my calories and eating," St. Clair said.

In his junior season at Bellefontaine, St. Clair completed 233-of-330 passes (70.6%) while throwing for 3,083 yards and a school-record 37 touchdowns to just six interceptions. He added 352 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns on his way to being named a Division III All-Ohio first-team selection.

St. Clair now up to five touchdown passes on the night, this one throwing on the run. pic.twitter.com/NemjhsAqJx

— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) August 19, 2023

Fifth total touchdown of the night for Tavien St. Clair and second rushing touchdown. pic.twitter.com/hpm2TutkBO

— Garrick Hodge (@Garrick_Hodge) August 24, 2024

Following his junior season, St. Clair won the accuracy challenge at Nike's "The Next Ones" event in Las Vegas. Four months later, he won the accuracy challenge at the Elite 11 Finals.

St. Clair completed 166-of-224 passes (68%) for 2,536 yards and accounted for 38 total touchdowns as a senior. He was named the Marcus Dupree National High School Player of the Year to conclude his career at Bellefontaine.

Tavien St. Clairs second of two touchdown passes tonight.

Great catch on the receiving end by Braylon Newcomb, who recently received his first Division I offer from Eastern Kentucky. Newcomb also had a kickoff return touchdown tonight. pic.twitter.com/FKuoTQZJKC

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 14, 2024

Immediate Impact

While Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz will lead the competition to replace Will Howard as Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2025, St. Clair has the talent to become a legitimate factor in the quarterback competition – at least for the backup job – as a freshman. He already has a college-ready build at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, and he pairs elite arm talent with great mobility for his size and maturity beyond his years.

That said, it's more likely that he’ll start his career as a backup, as the jump from Division III Ohio high school football to the Big Ten is quite a big one. Whether he is a starter or backup early on, St. Clair is prepared to become the best version of himself early on.

“I want to go in and be the best version of myself, regardless if that means I'm going to start or whether I'm last on the depth chart,” St. Clair told Eleven Warriors last September. “If I'm at my best, that's all that matters to me. And that's the whole reason I committed to Ohio State. I feel like they can turn me into the best player that I can be."

Long-Term Impact

If things go as planned, fellow five-star recruit Sayin will be Ohio State's starting quarterback in 2025 and 2026 and St. Clair will follow in the footsteps of recent Buckeye greats at the position and lead OSU in 2027. That said, St. Clair could realistically compete for the starting role leading into his second season in Columbus. He already has the intangibles and the football IQ to be great but must perfect his craft and adapt to the speed of the game at the college level early on in Columbus.

The keys to lead Ohio State's offense will be given to St. Clair no later than 2027, though, assuming he develops the way Ohio State believes he will over the next two seasons.

No matter when he starts for the Buckeyes, the Ohio native is ready to change the narrative in The Game and bring back Ohio State's dominance over Michigan after four consecutive wins for the Wolverines over the Buckeyes.

“I take it really personally,” St. Clair said. “Just being from Ohio, I think it means a little bit more to a lot of us Ohio guys knowing what it's capable of doing for the rest of your life. You can be known as a legend by beating the team up north. We're looking at it as an opportunity to put our name out there and really leave a legacy at Ohio State. So I'm taking it personal. I'm not trying to lose to the team up north. I don't have any intentions of losing.”

Player Comparison: Joe Burrow

A small-town kid from Ohio who was bigger and better than most of his competition, you say? Burrow came to Columbus with a four-star rating but never got the opportunity to prove his worth at Ohio State as he backed up J.T. Barrett for three years before being beat out for the starting quarterback job by Dwayne Haskins Jr. in 2018.

After transferring to LSU following three years as a Buckeye, Burrow showcased his greatness as a gunslinger. He completed 650-of-945 passes (68.8%) for 8,852 yards, 78 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in two seasons in Baton Rouge. The 6-foot-4 quarterback had a record-breaking senior campaign which featured him completing 402-of-527 passes (76.3%) for 5,671 yards, 60 touchdowns and six interceptions on his way to winning the 2019 Heisman Trophy and leading LSU to a national championship. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, Burrow quickly became one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, translating his greatness at the college level to the league.

While living up to Burrow's college résumé is a high expectation for St. Clair, he has the size, skill set and football IQ to follow in the footsteps of another small-town Ohio quarterback who made his way to Columbus and eventually into the NFL. Hopefully for the Buckeyes, St. Clair can showcase those tools while donning the scarlet and gray.