“If you want a inside look at what a good competition looks like, you look right here. We know what we want to accomplish as a group.” – Tavien St. Clair. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Tavien St. Clair might not be considered in the running to be Ohio State’s starting quarterback this fall, but he is focused on competing with himself to be fully prepared when his turn comes.
Columbus, OH – Tavien St. Clair had put on football pads hundreds of times and jogged to the practice field. But this time would be night-and-day different, even if he didn’t expect it.
St. Clair’s first college practice in pads, early in the spring of 2025, was his welcome-to-Ohio-State moment. Like when you get startled awake from a dream, wondering for a moment if what you just saw with your eyes closed was as real as it felt.
The Minster Bank is proud to sponsor the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.
For St. Clair, the time-to-get-serious job training for a quarterback – in pads and getting hit – was no dream. That day felt more real than ever. Like a first day on the job when the information coming at you is more than you can process.
“The intensity was different,” he said understatedly.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
That day reawakened St. Clair to the reality of how quarterbacks must be vocal to lead. He did it at Bellefontaine High School for four seasons as the unquestioned starter and leader. But at Ohio State there is no room for distraction. You must perform to earn respect as a leader.
“The offense is going to reflect what you’re doing, who you are as a quarterback, so I had to stand in there, deliver the play, and really instill confidence in my O line, instill confidence in the players in the huddle with me,” he said. “When you’re getting your butt kicked by the defense, you learn pretty quick that you have to be on your game.”
The Ohio State quarterbacks were asked multiple times and in multiple ways last week if they are feeling comfortable. For St. Clair, the point of the questions about being comfortable are obvious. He’s a true freshman with a five-star pedigree learning how to be a college student and a college football player at the most important position in an elite program.
St. Clair is already wise enough to know that settling into a comfort zone isn’t always in the quarterback job description or his best interests. Thus, learning how to survive discomfort is a necessary skill.
Tavien St. Clair, under the watchful eyes of Ryan Day, looks to launch one in last April’s spring game.
“As a room we really focus on embracing the uncomfortable,” he said. “As a quarterback if things are comfortable for you, then you’re either really well prepared or you’re anticipating really well, like Coach Day says.”
Being prepared to feel a hoped-for level of comfort to be ready to start for the Buckeyes is likely at least a season or two away for St. Clair. Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz are the anticipated 1-2 – in either order – heading into the showdown season opener against Texas. They are trying to feel comfortable in situations that are rarely described as comfortable.
“If the defense is making you uncomfortable, you really have to sharpen the mind and be on top everything,” St. Clair said. “The attention to detail at Ohio State is different. Every single play, every detail has to matter, every inch matters. You can’t have a bad day at Ohio State.”
When the mind catches up to the faster pace of play, comfort in the pocket might be achieved. At least that was St. Clair’s experience in high school. He knows comfort when he feels it even if the last time was the 2024 high school season.
“It kind of puts you in a flow state where you know what’s going on, you put guys in the right spots, make protection calls, things like that,” he said. “But also, if you’re comfortable in those situations where the defense is bringing a lot of things at you and you’re in control, you’re able to control what goes on. Comfort and uncomfort play a huge role in quarterback play.”
On the way to some semblance of comfort and being ready to lead the team, St. Clair is more focused on personal development and building trust with his teammates than he is on winning a job that will clearly go to Sayin or Kienholz.
Huffer Chiropractic can help your athlete perform at their best – with offices in Osgood, Jackson Center, and Dublin, Ohio.
“I’m competing with myself,” he said. “I’m trying to get better every day, be who I can be for this team, wherever that’s needed. I’m trying to be the best, the best teammate I can be for these quarterbacks, best teammate I can be for this team, because they’re all my brothers.”
He says his mindset hasn’t changed since spring practice. His goal then was to learn everything possible from his coaches, peers and mentors, especially in the quarterback room.
St. Clair is physically gifted with enough speed to be a feared runner, the size to run with power and see over the line and a strong arm capable of making all the throws. He works on physical aspects like footwork and arm mechanics. But he’s also developing his mind to be a student of the college game.
“A big focus for my personal development has been the mental reps,” he said. “Even though Julian or Lincoln might have the rep, going through it in my mind, picturing what I would do in that scenario is really big. We all emphasize taking mental reps.”
The we part is important to St. Clair. Like all quarterbacks at his level, he was the only guy for the job in high school. Other quarterbacks, older or younger, learned from him. At Ohio State the quarterback room is much more of a gathering of peers.
All three of them talk about the closeness of the room. They’ve been a threesome since January, working out together, watching film together, correcting each other, encouraging each other.
“If you want an inside look at what a good competition looks like, you look right here,” St. Clair said. “If you were to be around us, you wouldn’t hear any conversations about what’s going on in the competition. We all go out and we compete. We know what we have to get done individually. We know what we want to accomplish as a group. So we all coach each other up hard in the meeting rooms.”
St. Clair said he’s sure bad quarterback rooms exist where who gets which reps sews discontent and where teammates barely tolerate each other. But everyone associated with the quarterback room asserts it is a mature group.
St. Clair wants to play as much as anyone else on the team. He’s never not played. But he’s patient, waiting for his time to come.
“It’s been all good, all healthy, we’re really getting really close as a quarterback room,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to the season.”
And his next welcome-to-Ohio-State moment.
Wilson Health proudly sponsors the best in area sports coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com.