Can Tavien St Clair Win the Job?

Ohio State suddenly has a midseason quarterback competition, and Tavien St. Clair is getting his opportunity to make a move.

On this episode of the Buckeye Weekly Podcast, Tony Gerdeman and Tom Orr discuss whether St. Clair can overtake Luke Fahey and become Ohio State’s starting quarterback following the injury to Julian Sayin.

Ryan Day confirmed that both quarterbacks will get work with the first-team offense during the bye week. Fahey won the backup job during fall camp and has remained ahead of St. Clair, but Ohio State now has a rare opportunity to evaluate both quarterbacks with the starters before making a decision for USC.

Tony and Tom discuss what St. Clair would have to show in a very short window, whether his physical upside could factor into Ryan Day’s decision, and whether Ohio State should be thinking simply about beating USC or about which quarterback gives the Buckeyes the best chance to compete for a national championship.

0:30 — Ohio State has a midseason quarterback battle
1:02 — Can Tavien St. Clair win the starting job?
2:31 — Why this is an important opportunity for St. Clair
3:57 — Ryan Day explains how Ohio State will handle the competition
6:16 — How much ground does St. Clair have to make up?
8:11 — What happens if Fahey and St. Clair are even?
9:51 — Why Luke Fahey remains the favorite
10:57 — Could Ohio State prefer a Tavien St. Clair offense?
13:07 — What St. Clair must do to win the job

If this weren’t a bye week, Day indicated that Ohio State would essentially have to move forward immediately with Fahey. Instead, St. Clair gets several practices with the first-team offense to show how much progress he has made since falling behind Fahey during fall camp.

The fascinating question is what happens if St. Clair makes the competition close. Fahey has demonstrated a better command of the offense to this point, but St. Clair brings intriguing physical tools and potentially a different ceiling. If St. Clair can erase the gap during this week of practice, Tony believes those traits could make Ryan Day’s decision considerably more difficult.

Tom still expects Fahey to take the first snap against USC, but with St. Clair finally getting meaningful work alongside Ohio State’s starters — including Jeremiah Smith — this may be his best opportunity yet to prove he should be the guy.

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