The Bill and Doug Show: Ohio State Quarterback Grades & Ideal QB Room

Episode Date: December 16, 2025

Hosts: Doug Lesmerises (B), Bill Landis (D) | Podcast Network: Blue Wire

Episode Overview

In this episode, Doug and Bill break down the Ohio State quarterback (QB) room—its present configuration, recent performance, and future outlook. They analyze whether the current mix is the “ideal” modern college football QB room, dig into Julian Sayin’s profile as a starter, compare him to the best QBs of the Ryan Day era, and weigh the challenges of roster stacking in the transfer portal age.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Modern Quarterback Room: Is Four the New Fantasy?

[01:51 – 07:08]

• Doug raises whether it’s even possible to have a classic “four quarterbacks in four classes”-style room given today’s rampant transfers:
  • “Is it impossible to have four guys that have been in the program, like lined up, boom, boom, boom. Four years of guys. Is that a fantasy anymore?” (B, 03:11)
• Bill says, realistically, three is the new norm: “I think most years are probably going to have three and have to be okay with it.” (D, 03:50)
• Walk-ons and low-profile transfers (e.g., Eli Brickhandler) now fill that fourth spot, but they’re not “rotation” guys.
• If Keenholz left, should OSU seek a more experienced transfer or just wait until a true gap occurs in leadership or experience?
  • Bill: Only go for a “Tristan Jebbia/Gunnar Hoak-type” veteran if you’re breaking in a totally new starter; with Sayin, “I don’t know that they’re gonna be pounding the pavement quite as hard...” (D, 05:03)

Key Takeaway

• An “ideal” room right now is three scholarship QBs plus a veteran placeholder—not four “stacked” blue chips, which is almost impossible to retain at Ohio State’s level.

2. How Good Is This Year’s QB Room, Really?

[06:07 – 09:14]

• Current depth chart: 3rd year Lincoln Keenholz (ideal No. 2), 2nd year Julian Sayin (star), 1st year Tavian St. Clair, plus walk-ons and Brickhandler.
• Bill: “It’s about as good as you can hope for for a place that wants to be really good at quarterback. Like Ohio State is… I think it more or less looks how it looks right now.” (D, 06:27)
• Doug reviews recent recruiting rankings: with consistent top-10 QB recruits, but notes 2026 commit Luke Fahey is a rare lower-rated (No. 37) recruit—a calculated move to balance depth and talent.

Notable Quote

• “I don’t think the best quarterback room is to get the number one quarterback recruit in the country in four straight classes and say that’s our room. So I think you can see…an example of good quarterback room building.” (B, 08:45)

3. The Downside of Stacked Rooms: The Waiting Game

[10:14 –12:26]

• What if Sayin stays an extra year and St. Clair is blocked?
  • Doug: “If you have year four Julian Sane and year three Tavian Sinclair, who both want to be starting quarterbacks and they’re in the Ohio State quarterback room, how does that work out? ...Good problems to have.” (B, 11:48)
• Bill: This could be a rare but possible problem, though it's more likely Sayin is gone after '26 if all goes as planned.

4. How Often Do True Freshman Start at Power Programs?

[15:21 – 17:28]

• Doug lists true freshmen QBs who were full-season starters at power programs this year—showing OSU’s strategy of letting St. Clair “marinate” is actually advantageous (and a luxury).
• The key reason St. Clair won’t play right away: “The difference is Julian Sayin.” (D, 16:38)
• If Sayin hadn’t transferred, would Day have been comfortable rolling a true freshman? Bill: “I think you very much prefer to never have to start a true freshman.” (D, 17:53)

5. Grading Julian Sayin: Style, Stats & Trajectory

[18:22 – 25:45]

• Doug proposes (then skips) a direct ranking of Day-era QBs, noting it would get negative—so he turns to advanced stats.
• PFF grades: Only 2020 Fields is rated higher in all-around offensive grade than Sayin.
• Big-time throws vs Turnover-worthy plays:
  • Sayin is excellent at protecting the ball (“He takes care of the ball better than any Ryan Day quarterback,” (B, 21:40)), albeit without Fields/Stroud’s gunslinger highlight volume.
• Quarterback maturity: Bill expects Sayin’s playmaking risk to increase with confidence, and that’s normal for elite QBs.

Notable Quote

• “He’s a different style of quarterback… I think you’ll see both continue to rise a little bit. But he is, yeah, he’s a different style.” (D, 24:55)

• Doug on style: “I think timidness comes from fear and caution comes from intelligence… I don’t get that sense with him at all.” (B, 25:45)

6. Comparing to Past Legends: Fields, Stroud, and Beyond

[30:28 – 32:31]

• Sayin is more Stroud than Fields: less athletic but hyper-smart and accurate, showing flashes of taking over games as he matures.
• “The baseline that he has laid down this year… I find him to be an interesting quarterback in almost his blandness. And, and I mean blandness in like, the guy just does his job.” (B, 31:29)

7. Crowd-Sourced Grades and “The Press Package”

[35:31 – 38:18]

• Substack subscriber average QB room grade: 88/100
  • “It’s a ridiculously high bar. But 88 as an average is pretty good. So quarterbacks go down as an 88.” (B, 38:18)
• Brief speculation on whether Lincoln Keenholz will get a “press package” (short-yardage specialty role) in the playoff; Bill thinks it’s possible but OSU is cautious with packages when transfer potential looms.

Memorable Moment

• The hosts affectionately debate whether designing a role for Keenholz is wise given his transfer likelihood:
  • “Are you building anything around Lincoln Keenholz if you’re the slightest bit unsure about that?” (D, 36:46)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On the Impossibility of the Four-QB Room:
  • “Is it impossible to have four guys that have been in the program, like lined up, boom, boom, boom. Four years of guys. Is that a fantasy anymore?”
    (Doug, 03:11)
• On Julian Sayin’s Elite Ball Security:
  • “He takes care of the ball better than any Ryan Day quarterback…he is somewhat significantly above them in the not giving it away turnover level.”
    (Doug, 21:40)
• On Sayin’s Playing Style:
  • “He is at times maybe too smart for his own good, but actually as a first year starter and second year college football player, he’s probably exactly what you want to be.”
    (Doug, 25:45)
  • “I think timidness comes from fear and caution comes from intelligence.”
    (Doug, 25:45)
• On the “Good Problem” of Too Much QB Talent:
  • “If you have year four Julian Sane and year three Tavian Sinclair, who both want to be starting quarterbacks…how does that work out? ...Good problems to have.”
    (Doug, 11:48)
• On Room Stacking and Recruiting Approach:
  • “I don’t think the best quarterback room is to get the number one quarterback recruit in the country in four straight classes and say that’s our room…an example of good quarterback room building.”
    (Doug, 08:45)
• On Young QB Growth:
  • “I just don’t know that he’s a guy that, that repeats mistakes. And as long as he can, like kind of stay in that mode, I think he’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
    (Bill, 34:30)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Modern QB Room Logistics & Challenges: 01:51 – 07:08
• Assessing 2025’s Room & Recruiting Strategy: 06:27 – 09:14
• Potential St. Clair/Sayin Logjam Scenario: 10:14 – 12:26
• Freshman QBs Across CFB (and St. Clair's Timeline): 15:21 – 17:28
• Sayin’s Style & Stat Breakdown vs. Fields/Stroud: 18:22 – 25:45
• Blandness as a Virtue/Expectations for Playoff Leap: 30:28 – 32:31
• Fan Grading, Press Package, Keenholz’s Future: 35:31 – 38:18

Summary Table: Ranked Day-Era QB Offensive Grades (PFF)

| Rank | Season/QB | Overall Grade | |------|----------------------|------------------------| | 1 | 2020 Justin Fields | Highest | | 2 | 2025 Julian Sayin | 2nd highest | | 3 | 2021 CJ Stroud | 3rd | | 4 | 2019 Justin Fields | 4th | | 5 | 2022 CJ Stroud | 5th | | 6 | 2025 Will Howard | 6th | | 7 | 2023 Kyle McCord | 7th |

(Per discussion at 19:40)

Final Thoughts

• The hosts agree Ohio State’s QB room configuration for 2025—Sayin, Keenholz, St. Clair—is as close to ideal as the portal era allows.
• Julian Sayin is statistically superb: careful with the ball yet not overly conservative—his only “shortcoming” is his youth and room to grow more aggressive.
• The room’s future hinges both on wise recruiting balance (not just star-hunting) and managing transfer-era dynamics, especially as young players wait for a shot.
• The hosts expect Sayin to take a leap as a playmaker, possibly as soon as the coming playoff.
• Fan confidence is high, with an 88/100 room grade, but there’s acknowledgment of both room for growth and unavoidable roster churn ahead.

For fans seeking a lens into OSU’s QB philosophy and Julian Sayin’s trajectory—not just highlights, but the complex mechanics of building and sustaining an elite quarterback room—this episode is an in-depth, candid, and spirited roadmap.