Ohio State QB Coach Drops Strong Claim on Lincoln Kienholz

The Ohio State Buckeyes currently have a very compelling quarterback battle underway in camp, as Lincoln Kienholz seems to be giving Julian Sayin a run for his money.

Sayin is definitely still the favorite to win the job, but Kienholz — who was also named an Iron Buckeye — has been a surprising competitor, and he is clearly impressing the coaching staff.

Ohio State quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler raved about Kienholz recently and absolutely likes what he is seeing from the junior signal-caller.

“On top of that, we've seen him grow as a leader,” Fessler told reporters. “He's more vocal. His presence is felt. I think he's playing with a little bit of an edge to him, which is good to see. I think you have to play that position with a little bit of an edge without ever getting too high or too low, and that's contagious. As far as mechanically it goes, we're definitely seeing Lincoln get the ball out quickly. I think he's accurate. I think that his base has improved. There's been a couple of things that in the spring he was working on with his footwork, and we've seen some drastic improvements that way.”

Can Lincoln Kienholz actually beat out Julian Sayin?

That begs the question: is Kienholz actually a legitimate threat to Sayin. Or are the Buckeyes only using him to light a fire under the former five-star prospect?

Make no mistake: Kienholz can play, and even last year, head coach Ryan Day made it clear that he liked the Pierre, S.D. native during a quarterback competition that was ultimately won by Will Howard.

However, Sayin comes with a tremendous pedigree. Not only was he a highly-touted recruit (who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama), but he possesses incredible dual-threat ability and even began receiving Heisman Trophy buzz back in February. This in spite of only throwing 12 passes all of his freshman campaign in 2024.

Taking those things into consideration, it will obviously be difficult for Kienholz to actually win the job, but the fact that he is making such a strong impression on the team has certainly made things very interesting in the lead up to the season opener against Texas.

At the very least, the 6-foot-3, 214-pound Kienholz will represent a very intriguing option for the Buckeyes if Sayin gets off to a slow start in the early stages of the 2025 campaign.