He could throw it…deep and accurate. Tavien St. Clair completes a pass against Coldwater last September. An Ohio State recruit, he’s the #1 prospect in the state of Ohio. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The best class of 2025 player in Ohio didn’t simply rely on his natural talent to become a player the Buckeyes eventually wanted. He worked for it.
Bellefontaine, OH – The skinny kid – all arms and legs and feeling awkward at 6-foot-3 – couldn’t fathom the idea of being a freshman phenom.
He only knew he loved playing quarterback for his hometown, far from the beaten paths of big-time college football recruiters. But Tavien St. Clair’s football abilities were laced with more promise than he could contemplate.
As a freshman for Bellefontaine High School in 2021, he played in every game but didn’t start until Week 6. His team won a playoff game but finished 7-5. His statistics – 1,722 yards, 13 touchdowns, 55% – were noteworthy for a freshman but not phenomenal.
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After the season, Central Michigan awarded St. Clair his first scholarship offer. He thought that was it. He would be a MAC quarterback, and he felt blessed with such an opportunity. But news of the sprouting freshman with the strong arm filtered south.
Early one morning before school, St. Clair’s opportunities burst open like a speedy receiver on a go route.
Joey Halzle, the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee, visited Bellefontaine to see if St. Clair’s future could be bigger than the MAC. St. Clair, some of his receivers, Bellefontaine coaches and St. Clair’s dad met Halzle in the gym for a workout.
“He was spinning the ball like he never had before with as much confidence as I’ve ever seen,” said Jake Kennedy, Bellefontaine’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator. “The ball was just popping in the gym. You could hear it hitting the receivers’ hands like this: pop, pop, pop.”
From 40 yards, receivers put their hands up as a target, and St. Clair threw bull’s-eyes.
Pop, pop, pop.
“That day was eye-opening for everybody,” Kennedy said.
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Halzle’s eyes were wide open.
“It’s officially real,” Halzle said to St. Clair. “We’re offering you a full scholarship, and after this your life’s going to change.”
When Kennedy heard the offer, he realized the young man he was coaching, the young man who played the position he had once played for the Chieftains, the young man who has since grown into his body to be 6-4 and 225 pounds, had his choice of futures at the highest levels of football.
“That was the moment,” Kennedy said.
The offer to play in the SEC made St. Clair’s head spin with as many RPMs as the tight spirals he showed the coach from Tennessee.
“So surreal,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
St. Clair and his parents spent the rest of the day talking about that morning’s events.
“I just couldn’t believe that somebody that big that I watch on TV every Saturday was giving me the attention like that,” St. Clair said.
And Halzle was correct. Life would never be the same.
Bellefontaine roots
St. Clair’s young life is full of change and national attention, but he says he’s the same person.
“I don’t want to change on people – I don’t want to seem like I’m just cocky and things like that,” St. Clair said. “It’s just never been me.”
In a little over a year, St. Clair matured from a mid-200s recruit into a consensus five-star recruit this summer, is rated as high as the nation’s No. 2 overall player and is Ohio State’s only quarterback commitment for the class of 2025. But St. Clair didn’t travel the common path of quarterbacks developing into five-stars.
His is an uncommon story.
St. Clair considers three matters with each decision he makes: faith, family and football. And all three conspired to keep him in a community he loves, under the tutelage of Kennedy, playing at the Division III level of Ohio football and playing in the Central Buckeye Conference, a league that doesn’t send players to the Big Ten or the SEC. The last two players from Bellefontaine to play at that level went to Michigan State in 1969.
When Kennedy watched St. Clair wow the Tennessee coach, he had yet to officially coach St. Clair. That began with St. Clair’s sophomore season after Kennedy’s playing career ended.
Kennedy’s resume wasn’t replete with names of accomplished quarterbacks he had developed. St. Clair is his first. Kennedy set passing records at Bellefontaine, was a three-year starter at Wittenberg from 2016 to 2018 and played two seasons professionally in Europe.
Chieftains head coach Jason Brown said Kennedy could have chosen many coaching destinations. But Kennedy chose to coach and be a high school teacher in his hometown.
As a freshman, St. Clair said he didn’t watch film or have good routines. That all changed with Kennedy’s arrival when they reviewed his freshman game film. They have continued to hone his physical skills and create a mental approach quarterbacks need beyond high school.
“Being that guy that can develop me and get me ready for the next level has been big,” St. Clair said. “And that gave me a head start above the other quarterbacks in my class.”
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Most quarterbacks of St. Clair’s caliber hire private quarterback coaches and pay them thousands. But Kennedy’s coaching convinced St. Clair, his family and Brown such a pursuit was unnecessary. They set goals for improving his release, footwork, weight training, mental approach and film study.
“He was the first one to tell me that the mental side of football is just as big as the physical if not bigger,” St. Clair said.
Comments from college coaches vindicated the decision to remain homegrown. As coaches have visited to work out St. Clair, observed and coached him at many one-day camps at Power Five schools, Brown has heard the same praise over and over.
“It was very heartening to hear them say you’re fine doing what you’re doing,” he said. “I’m so proud of what these two have done together.”
Kennedy almost blushes at the praise.
“First off, I want to say he deserves all the credit in the world with how much he works and how hard he works,” Kennedy said. “This dude, without me, is on the field every single day all the time. Maybe I do play a role in this development, but he has worked tirelessly to be where he’s at.”
Make me an offer
Ohio State didn’t offer St. Clair a scholarship just because he is from Ohio. Head coach and quarterback developer Ryan Day doesn’t do that.
“Being from a small town like this, I just didn’t know if I’d get the recognition,” St. Clair said.
Tough…At 6’4″ and 225 pounds St. Clair is big and athletic enough to make it count when he tucks the ball and runs.
The last Ohio quarterback to sign with the Buckeyes was Joe Burrow, another small-town kid. And the Buckeyes passed on big-school standouts Sean Clifford and Drew Allar who went on to start for Penn State.
“I didn’t want that to be me,” St. Clair said. “I wanted to work tirelessly till I got the opportunity. I knew that I could get to the place that I could compete with any quarterback in the nation, and it motivated me for so long.”
Two other 2025 quarterbacks earned Ohio State offers long before St. Clair. Ryan Montgomery from Findlay received his offer on October 30, 2021. Michigan’s Bryce Underwood, the top-ranked player in the nation, was offered in December of 2022.
St. Clair was aware, and the lack of an offer fueled his resolve to prove doubters wrong.
“People don’t believe that I’ll be good in college because I play in a smaller division or play in a smaller school,” he said. “My way of showing them is I go to a camp with the quarterback that they think is better than I am and then outperform him there. He might play better competition where he’s at, but it doesn’t separate us. We play football here.”
To reach that level, St. Clair got serious about developing his skills and strength.
“He was just throwing a football like an uncle would pick up a football at the cookout and be all arm,” Kennedy said. “Throwing a football truly is a full body work.”
Kennedy said St. Clair doesn’t analyze his mechanics like he once did. He’s using his core, his hips and muscle memory. The analysts love how smoothly he throws the football.
“Once you get stronger you can really feel the ball come out of your hand just different,” St. Clair said. “I was just throwing the ball with a lot more pace on it than I had previously.”
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Still, the Tennessee offer didn’t push the Buckeyes into a quick decision even after St. Clair camped at Ohio State after his freshman season. Everyone who knew St. Clair knew he wanted an Ohio State offer.
“I don’t know if there’s a more loyal fan than me,” he said. “When I was young, I cried when they’d lose. I’ve always wanted to be a Buckeye.”
St. Clair’s southern camp tour earned offers from Alabama, LSU and others. Big Ten rivals Michigan and Penn State made offers. All along former offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson stayed in touch with St. Clair and visited Bellefontaine.
Nothing.
“Early indication when Coach Wilson was here was it was going to be a work in progress,” Kennedy said. “I deep down knew if the opportunity ever came, he was going to take it.”
Brown said, “The word was we’re not going to offer you unless we’ll accept your commitment.”
St. Clair took a realistic view of the situation and evaluated the SEC schools. He knew the right move, no matter if an Ohio State offer came or not, was to choose the best opportunity.
But as Kennedy said, St. Clair, deep in his Buckeye soul, wanted to stay close to home and play for his favorite team.
“The amount of work physically he put in as just a motivating driver to get the offer, let alone committing, was just different,” Brown said. “It was a hard mental and physical uphill climb to get there.”
The results of St. Clair’s sophomore season made a strong case: 2,453 yards, 70.7%, 25 touchdowns, four interceptions. And by May of 2023, St. Clair had filled out, grown stronger and built a good relationship with quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis, who left this past March to join Wilson’s staff at Tulsa.
Dennis arrived in town that May to witness a more physically mature quarterback. The Chieftains were on the field in helmets and Dennis watched St. Clair throw. Then Dennis took St. Clair off to the side to run some drills. But Dennis knew why he was really in town.
“When somebody looks you in the face and tells you you’re going to be my quarterback when they offer you, it’s kind of hard to say no to that,” St. Clair said. “It’s a major blessing for me to know that I’m the person they wanted to seek.”
St. Clair told Kennedy the next day he would commit to Ohio State, but he waited until June 21 to tell the world he will be a Buckeye. After St. Clair committed, Underwood chose Alabama this past January and Montgomery chose Georgia in April.
With two years of high school left, St. Clair had proven his worth to Ohio State, but he promises not to rest on his good fortune.
“I’m going there to work because it means more to me than it does to a lot of the players that they recruit,” he said. “Being from Ohio I understand the rivalry. I have a little chip on my shoulder with that, and it’s going to be a motivator for me to work as hard as I can. A lot of the past quarterbacks said it’s just a game, but it’s not to me.”
Support system
Hard work is the football part that made Tavien St. Clair the best football player in Ohio and one of the best in the nation. The faith and family parts, however, keep him grounded.
St. Clair’s Christian faith and his large and supportive family are inextricably united.
Marcus and Patricia St. Clair and their four children attend Christ Our King Church in Bellefontaine. The lessons learned in church and the relationships he’s built with the pastor and church members helped St. Clair trust God’s plan through the recruiting process.
“I know I can do things through Him, I have a relationship, I pray,” he said. “I spend time with my faith and with my family because they’ve given me so much, and I just try and give that back to them. Faith and family are the biggest things, and then it’s really football after that.”
St. Clair’s experiences help him see his life as part of something bigger than himself, whether it’s at church, in school, on the field and most definitely around his family.
Patricia St. Clair is the second of 12 children. Eight of them are St. Clair’s uncles and some of them aren’t much older. And they are big men, all 6-4 or taller, some of them resembling offensive linemen. St. Clair appreciates how they joke with him, support him at games and share life lessons.
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“That’s important to have those kinds of relationships, and that’s unique,” said Kennedy, who played football with one of the uncles. “I don’t know any other family that has that kind of vibe. That’s been good for him.”
Marcus St. Clair and his second son have talked about football opportunities and Ohio State for many years.
“He’s always pushed me to be above my age a little bit and really handle things differently,” St. Clair said. “He’s been huge for me as a mentor and a role model.”
Marcus St. Clair allowed his third-grade son to play with fifth graders. The first season he was a running back, but since the fourth grade he’s been a quarterback and threw his first touchdown pass that season on the high school field.
“It was just like a 10-yard touchdown pass,” he said, “but I thought it was the coolest thing because I’d never done that.”
Becoming the man
Grade-school teams, however, turned into middle-school teams and finally the high school team.
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Despite the obvious raw talent, St. Clair did not open his freshman season as the starter. Sophomore Riley Neer worked hard at the position and led the Chieftains to a 4-1 start.
“I didn’t have a feeling early honestly,” Brown said. “I really wanted to just look at the facts. And I think that’s what was most fair to everybody involved. What made it tough early is that they were both good.”
St. Clair took his turns during those first five games, threw three touchdowns and passed for more than 100 yards twice. In Week 6, St. Clair started and Neer moved to receiver.
“The biggest variable was Tavien maximized who we are distributing the ball and Riley maximized who we were finishing the play with the ball in his hands,” Brown said. “When that happened, other guys realized the same – I got a chance to finish this play with the ball in my hands because the distributor is special.”
Brown said both families supported the decision, and no one has been selfish. Last year as a senior Neer caught 113 passes for 1,873 yards and 21 touchdowns. He will be a preferred walk-on this fall at Ohio University.
When St. Clair arrives at Ohio State next year, he will be in another quarterback competition with other highly recruited men who will be confident, physically gifted and expecting to win the job.
“Going to a place like Ohio State I know the expectation is to have the best quarterback room in the country,” St. Clair said. “Going through a competition before, I feel like it prepared me a little bit, and it’s helped me to push and really just to be the best version of myself.”
St. Clair looks forward to playing for Day, learning how to compete in the Big Ten and preparing for his dream of an NFL career.
“People just see him as a coach, but I see him as a mentor,” St. Clair said. “I’ve been able to connect with him on a different level than most people outside of football. He’s a very down to earth person that cares about his players and really wants to see everybody succeed. That’s why I wanted to commit to him.”
What St. Clair didn’t know when he committed is that his position coach and offensive coordinator will be Chip Kelly. He led Oregon to prominence with his fast-paced offense and coached in the NFL.
Kelly left UCLA as head coach after this past season because he wanted to coach players again instead of manage coaches.
“He literally embodies what we’re trying to do at Ohio State,” St. Clair said. “He has great knowledge of football, and every time I’m with him I try and soak it all in and really just be a sponge and understand and get a grasp of the concepts and the terminology he uses.”
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Legacy extended
St. Clair enters his final high school season leading an inexperienced team. Last year’s team reached the regional final for only the second time in program history and the first time since 1999. The Chieftains graduated 16 seniors including their top rushers and receivers.
St. Clair, however, isn’t bothered. The team goals don’t change.
And for one final season, in the community he loves, St. Clair will continue his game-day ritual.
When classes end, he will go to the school office where his mom works. They will talk and he will get the duffel bag she has been guarding.
Then he will join his teammates for a meal. Next, he will walk the field, soak in what it means to be a Chieftain, go to the locker room and pray, then return to the field and pray before final warmups.
“When I’m out there on the field I usually pray that He just protects me and my team and puts us in the position to win the game,” St. Clair said.
Some will question the Chieftains’ chances of making another playoff run this year even with St. Clair. His 3,083 passing yards at a 70.6% completion rate and 37 touchdowns will be difficult to duplicate with a new cast.
“I want a state championship, I want to go as far as we can go,” St. Clair said. “A rising tide raises all ships. If your talent is going up, the people around you will rise up to your level. We have inexperienced guys, but we got guys that can play. People are going to realize that quickly.”
Another important piece to the season is for Brown and Kennedy to prepare for life after Tavien St. Clair. But they have a plan.
His name is Reign St. Clair, a freshman who will be the starter in 2025.
“Like any other big brother, they want to see their little brother be better than they were,” Tavien said. “He’s got the opportunity to do that now. Really, I’m just trying to be the best mentor and role model I can be for him.”
The younger St. Clair didn’t have to wait until after his freshman season to be seen by a big-time coach. He got his chance to show Ohio State what he could do this summer at a 7 on 7 competition. Tavien was in Los Angeles being runner-up in the prestigious Elite 11 camp and competition with 20 of the best senior quarterbacks in the country.
Day mostly watched his son, R.J., a quarterback for Columbus DeSales. But when Bellefontaine played Division I Dublin Coffman, Day and Kelly watched Reign and the Chieftains beat Coffman.
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“Sometimes kids are just gamers, and you know,” Brown said. “And Reign’s best performance was when Coach Day and Coach Kelly sat and watched. Reign didn’t blink. He stood in there and he was the Reign train that’s only going to gain steam and momentum as long as he continues to work. If he’ll be hungry and looking for something to prove like his brother, the sky will be the limit.”
One goal this season will be to build enough big leads to get the younger brother some game experience. And what could be better for the freshman than to be playing behind and learning from his talented big brother.
“It needs to be an iron sharpens iron quarterback battle, and that’s what we need Reign to look at this as, even though he’s going against the best quarterback in the country,” Brown said. “Is it probable that Reign’s an Ohio State quarterback? Maybe not probable, but it’s possible.”
When Tavien St. Clair was a freshman, nobody said he would be an Ohio State quarterback. A kid from a small town, from a program and league that doesn’t produce elite recruits didn’t have a chance.
But he does now.
“His faith, his family, his love for community and this team – and even when it felt like what he coveted wasn’t going to happen, maybe an Ohio State offer wasn’t coming – drove him even further, to work even harder,” Brown said. “So, the question is how did this happen? That’s how … along with being greatly blessed.”
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