Ohio State’s starting quarterback competition will be in the spotlight during Saturday’s spring game at Ohio Stadium.
After Ryan Day said Monday that Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are “pretty much neck-and-neck” in their competition to be Ohio State’s No. 1 QB this season, the biggest storyline on Saturday will be the performance of the Buckeyes’ top two quarterbacks as each of them look to make their case that they’re best the choice to lead Ohio State’s offense when it opens the season against Texas on Aug. 30.
Aside from quarterback, other positions to watch on Saturday include right tackle, where Austin Siereveld appears to be making a move in the competition for a starting job, and the defensive line, where the Buckeyes are still assessing whether they have the depth they need ahead of the transfer portal reopening later this month.
We discuss all of those storylines on our spring game preview episode of Real Pod Wednesdays.
We also conducted a fantasy draft in which we made our picks for which offensive skill-position players will have the biggest days in the spring game, keeping in mind that established stars like Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate will likely see only brief action. In a snake draft format, each of us drafted five players – one quarterback, one running back, one wide receiver, one tight end and one flex player (a spot each of us elected to use on a second wide receiver) – based on who think will score the most fantasy points using standard fantasy football scoring (one point per 25 passing yards, four points per passing touchdown, one point per 10 rushing/receiving yards and six points per rushing/receiving touchdown).
Our picks, which are explained in more detail in the show, can be found in the table below:
| Dan | Pos | Andy |
|---|---|---|
| Tavien St. Clair (8) | QB | Lincoln Kienholz (6) |
| Bo Jackson (1) | RB | James Peoples (3) |
| Mylan Graham (4) | WR | Brandon Inniss (7) |
| Jelani Thurman (9) | TE | Max Klare (2) |
| Quincy Porter (5) | FLEX | Bryson Rodgers (10) |
Finally, we wrap up the show by breaking down the two newest transfer additions for Ohio State men’s basketball – Christoph Tilly and Brandon Noel – and assessing what the Buckeyes should still be looking to do to round out their roster for 2025-26.
The full rundown for this week’s show:
- 0:00 Playing A True Spring Game Completes Physical, Competitive Spring for Buckeyes
- 4:47 Competition Between Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz Looks Quite Real Entering Spring Game
- 16:28 Austin Siereveld Making A Push to Be Ohio State’s Starting Right Tackle This Season
- 24:08 Defensive Line, Emerging Linebackers In Focus for Ohio State Defense in Spring Game
- 31:55 Spring Game Fantasy Draft
- 42:54 Assessing Ohio State Basketball’s Roster Build with Christoph Tilly, Brandon Noel Additions
Watch this week’s Real Pod Wednesdays in the video at the top of the page or listen to it in the audio player below. All episodes of Real Pod Wednesdays are also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Eleven Warriors’ YouTube channel.
