LOS ANGELES — Lincoln Kienholz intends to return to Ohio State next year, leaving the Buckeyes with at least three scholarship quarterbacks in position to compete to replace Will Howard behind center.
“I don’t plan on leaving,” Kienholz told The Dispatch on Monday during a Rose Bowl media day.
A redshirt freshman who enrolled at the school last year, Kienholz would be in the mix with Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair, a ballyhooed incoming freshman from Bellefontaine.
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Kienholz spent this year as the fourth-string quarterback on the depth chart and appeared in two games, though he did not attempt a pass. All 22 of his career pass attempts came last season, most of them in a loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl when he replaced Devin Brown and completed 6 of 17 passes for 86 yards.
If he reverses his decision, he would have until five days after the Buckeyes’ last playoff game to enter transfer portal. The winter window extends for teams playing deeper in the postseason.
But after meeting with coaches, Kienholz expressed an eagerness to remain at Ohio State and make a push to win the starting job beginning in spring practice.
“I haven’t really gotten a huge opportunity to show myself,” Kienholz said, “and I feel like this coming year could be a big year for me.”
Sayin, who was the top-ranked quarterback recruit in the 2024 recruiting class and has closely trailed Brown for the backup spot on the depth chart, is seen as the favorite to succeed Howard.
Kienholz, though, offers an intriguing skillset as a former three-sport athlete in high school in South Dakota, also playing basketball and baseball.
“I think I can win it,” Kienholz said. “I’m pretty versatile. I can throw. I can run. There’s just a lot of things I can do at the quarterback spot.”
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In the leadup to the Rose Bowl, a quarterfinal part of the College Football Playoff, Kienholz has been the Buckeyes’ scout team quarterback, mimicking Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel.
Kienholz said he has also benefited from another year of experience within the program, allowing him to deepen his knowledge of the offense and learn from Howard.
He has appreciated Howard’s leadership.
“Just how he can kind of take control of a team and lead,” Kienholz said. “That’s special.”
It’s a priority for him to replicate as well.
“What I need to work on more is being a leader,” Kienholz said.
Attrition has hit Ohio State’s quarterback room since the winter window opened on Dec. 9. Brown and freshman Air Noland both put their names in the transfer portal.
Brown is remaining with the Buckeyes through the playoff, while Noland left the team and later committed to transfer to South Carolina.
There is a second transfer window in April following spring practice, as Kienholz acknowledged.
“If this spring doesn’t work out for me,” Kienholz said, “I might have to go somewhere else, but that’s not really what I’m thinking about.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Lincoln Kienholz not planning to transfer from Ohio State football
