Lettermen Row member mailbag: Quarterback Week questions answered
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It’s time for a Quarterback Week mailbag!
COLUMBUS — We asked the Lettermen Row members for their best Quarterback Week questions, and now we’re answering some of them in an offseason Ohio State mailbag.
Let’s check what questions we got and get them answered.
Some.random.old.guy asked…
What will the depth chart be on Labor Day?
I’ll stick by my prediction from Thursday, when I broke down a projected depth chart. We’re projecting fifth-year senior Will Howard, the Kansas State transfer, will win the starting job over Devin Brown, a former five-star quarterback and third-year signal-caller.
From there, the depth chart, in our projection, has five-star plus recruit Julian Sayin, who transferred from Alabama to Ohio State just weeks after enrolling at Alabama because Nick Saban retired, in third. Fourth is second-year quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. He had an up-and-down spring, which included two interceptions in the spring game, but he is still early in his development and should keep progressing. Air Noland, meanwhile, committed to the Buckeyes last April and never wavered in his commitment to the program. He’s fifth to start the year.
Some.random.old.guy asked…
What will the depth chart be on Thanksgiving?
Call me crazy, but unless the Buckeyes suffer an injury or two, I expect the depth chart to remain the same at the end of the year. The only movement I could see on the depth chart is Julian Sayin moving up or down, depending on how he performs in training camp.
“He’s been unbelievable,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said of Sayin’s approach. “He has a good plan when he gets out there. Doesn’t want to get his hand held. I’ve been impressed with his approach, and like I said before, he’s got a really bright future. How fast he gets on the field will be just kind of up to him.”
If he continues to shine, Ohio State could move him into the backup role behind either Howard or Brown — whichever of those two wins the job. If Sayin fades during his freshman season — which wouldn’t be shocking or alarming; he’s a freshman — then Lincoln Kienholz could slide into the third spot behind the two battling for the starting job.
Kevin Quinn asked…
Since Day has multiple times talked about adding qb runs to the offense this offseason.How much do you think they will actually use it?
Ohio State is going all-in on this season, including at quarterback. The Buckeyes will use their quarterback however they need to win games — and win a national title.
That includes using quarterbacks in the run-game, which is why Ohio State coach Ryan Day is making sure the room has depth needed to make it through the entire season, from August to January.
“With the quarterbacks having the ability to run, we haven’t done that a lot here. Justin’s probably the last one. Boy, he really kind of limped into the last couple games because of that,” Day said in the week leading up to the spring game. “And so we’re going to need guys.
“It’s not about maybe in the past where it was like, ‘just be quarterback,’ and we we’re gonna kind of keep him upright. This year, we’re gonna [run the quarterback] with Chip. So we need depth in that room.”
Couple that with Chip Kelly’s run scheme and how he uses his quarterbacks. Kelly had Dorian Thompson-Robinson in his system for five years at UCLA; Thompson-Robinson had more than 10,000 passing yards in his career. But he also had two seasons with 118 rushing attempts and another year with 130 attempts. He had 600 yards rushing twice in his career. During his senior season, Thompson-Robinson had 12 rushing scores.
With all of that in mind, expect to see more of the quarterback run than we’ve seen since Justin Fields had 138 attempts in 2019 — the last time Ohio State was elite in both the passing and the ground game.
Some.random.old.guy asked…
Please rank the current from (1 to 5) QBs on their running ability
This is really tough, because all five Buckeyes quarterbacks have the skillset to use both their arm talent and mobility to make an impact. Even Ryan Day said that immediately after the spring game.
“When you have a quarterback who can run, it does change the numbers, as we all know,” Day said. “You guys have seen that over the years, and it’s going to be a weapon for us this year because all of our quarterbacks are athletic enough to do that.”
Although Devin Brown’s athleticism in comparison to Kyle McCord’s may have been overstated a bit last offseason, he can use his legs well. So can Will Howard, who had 19 career rushing touchdowns during his time at Kansas State. Kienholz might be the best athlete of the five; he was a four-sport star at his South Dakota high school. Noland and Sayin’s ability to run are still unknown, although Noland looked good doing it in the spring game. That was a one-game sample, however.
I’ll take Howard as the best because he has done it at a high level. Kienholz would be second, followed by Brown, Noland and Sayin. But all five certainly can move better than what we’ve seen recently at Ohio State.
Some.random.old.guy asked…
Please rank the QBs on their arm talent. Again, first to last.
Is is weird to put the freshman first because of his potential, even if what we’ve seen from him is a limited sample size? Julian Sayin has special arm talent, so much so that On3 Director of Scouting Charles Power said Sayin has ‘the most refined and accurate passer in the 2024 cycle.’
Here’s another sample of what Power said about Sayin:
Touts one of the quickest releases in the cycle with a tight, compact throwing motion. Has outstanding overall mechanics. Consistently throws in rhythm, marrying his eyes, upper body and feet. Generates good zip on short and intermediate passes. The ball gets out quick. Layers his passes with ease, delivering with advanced touch. Hits receivers in stride. A good deep ball thrower. Comfortable passer on the run with the ability to deliver from off-platform.
Charles Power, On3
He’s the best pure passer on the roster.
So we’ll put Sayin first, followed by Brown, Howard, Kienholz and Noland. For now.
Some.random.old.guy asked…
Theoretically, if JT Barrett was on this roster where would you slot him in the above 2 rankings? Personally I feel like JT is vastly under appreciated. He isn’t all world, but he would have been the starter last year if he had been on the roster.
I’d have him behind only Will Howard in the rushing category. Barrett was a great rushing threat and would thrive in a Chip Kelly offensive system.
As for passing, are we talking about ‘2017 fourth quarter against Penn State’ J.T. Barrett or ‘2017 against Iowa’ J.T. Barrett? All jokes aside, I’d have Barrett behind Sayin and Howard as a passer but not behind the other three.
The post Lettermen Row member mailbag: Quarterback Week questions answered appeared first on On3.
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