Luke Fahey shocked everyone when he jumped to second on the Ohio State depth chart, then took the keys to the offense against the Hoosiers after Julian Sayin went down with an injury. But hold up, Buckeye fans. Head coach Ryan Day just pumped the brakes on crowning Fahey the undisputed starter, meaning a full-blown quarterback battle is about to explode during their bye week.
The Buckeye QB Rollercoaster: From Unexpected Heir to Open Competition
Remember when five-star 2025 commit Tavien St. Clair was supposed to be the obvious successor after Julian Sayin moved on? Yeah, well, fall camp had other plans. True freshman Luke Fahey, a three-star prospect from Mission Viejo, California, surprised everyone by beating out St. Clair for the second spot on the depth chart. That move became seriously important when Sayin went down against the Hoosiers. Who did Day trot out to try and gut out a win? Fahey, not St. Clair. Day even hinted after the game that things would “undoubtedly look a little different with Fahey in there going forward,” making it seem like the job was his to lose.
But Tuesday evening, Day wasn’t ready to lock it in. He told the press that while Fahey is “ahead of St. Clair at the moment,” St. Clair, the Ohio native, will get “an opportunity to show that he gives the Buckeyes the best chance to win moving forward.” What? This is a complete reversal from just a few days ago! Day laid it out: “Now that we have a bye week, these guys are both going to get a lot of reps, and we’re going to start to put together a plan on how we’re going to move forward, and we’re going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win.” Get ready for a QB battle on steroids before Halloween.
Two Weeks To Prove It: St. Clair’s Shot and Day’s Fast Clock
For a lot of Ohio State fans, this news is probably music to their ears. St. Clair is a household name, a top-ten recruit in the 2025 cycle, and has been in the program for a year. Fahey, meanwhile, is just a true freshman and a three-star. We don’t know how these guys are wired or how practice goes, but with two weeks of intense practice before the next game at USC, maybe this real-life opportunity is exactly what St. Clair needs to snatch that starting job.
Day isn’t messing around either. He’s looking to make a decision on the starter “heading into game prep next week.” There’s “not a lot of sand in the hourglass” here because they need to get a game plan in and be ready for “a pretty good USC squad.” Day stressed the importance of the decision, noting that while it’ll ultimately be his call, he’s taking a lot of input. “Arthur is going to have some say in it. Billy’s going to have some say in it. The coaches will have some say in it. You listen to the guys on defense, Matt Patricia, but also the players, the receivers, the linemen,” Day explained. It’s a massive decision, and the “quarterback Rubik’s Cube has to be solved quickly” if this talented Buckeye squad is going to stay on track for some “pretty big things,” including a national title.
So, who wins this high-stakes showdown: the lifelong Ohio State fan from California, Luke Fahey, or the Ohio kid, Tavien St. Clair? We’ll find out next week before they head to sunny SoCal to face USC. Get ready.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply