Ohio State freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair gets closer to suiting up for Buckeyes

All of the headlines have revolved around quarterback Julian Sayin for the past few weeks.

And it's understandable. The sophomore phenom has been undeniably one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. He's led this 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes team to a perfect 5-0 record and No. 1 ranking, while being very efficient with the ball in hand. He currently sits at the top mark in the country in completion percentage at 80.2%

However, there's a freshman quarterback two spots behind Sayin who's pulling just as much excitement internally: Tavien St. Clair.

St. Clair is still finding his footing at the collegiate level, spending much time developing and learning the Ohio State scheme. He spent the offseason learning from Sayin and backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz, something that has shown on the practice field.

On Tuesday, the coaching staff officially gave St. Clair his flowers and announced that he would have his black stripe removed before the Buckeyes' game against Illinois this coming weekend. The announcement came from Ohio State's director of player development, C.J. Barnett.

"We've got a black stripe alert," Barnett said. "This guy has the makings of a great one. He's intelligent, athletic and a cannon for an arm. Welcome to the Brotherhood, Tavien St. Clair."

The Buckeyes and Fighting Illini will clash at noon on Saturday, Oct. 11 on the road at the Gies Memorial Stadium.

What is the black stripe?

This tradition started during the tenure of former head coach Urban Meyer. This tradition focuses on athletes' abilities to adapt to a culture and fully immerse themselves in the program that they become a part of.

Each incoming player must earn the right to be called a Buckeye.

When they arrive at Ohio State, a black stripe will be placed on their helmet, not to be removed until they have proven themselves enough to earn a spot on the team. This decision is done by the coaching staff.

After Meyer left and current head coach Ryan Day took over before the start of the 2019 campaign, Day kept this practice in place. All freshmen and walk-on athletes must earn the chance to have their black stripe taken off.

The most recent player to have their black stripe removed outside of St. Clair was freshman linebacker TJ Alford, who had his removed nearly a month ago on Sept. 17. The last quarterback to have the tradition affect them was then-freshman Air Noland, who had his removed on Sept. 25, 2024.

So far in 2025, St. Clair has appeared in just one game. He suited up in the 70-0 blowout for the Buckeyes over Grambling State. That game, he played in 13 snaps where he primarily handed off the ball and dwindled the clock down. However, he did pass twice, going 0-2.

The Buckeyes are riddled with young talent, and the list of black-tripe-removals is expected to continue to grow as the year trickles on.