Quarterback Luke Fahey was never supposed to be a starting quarterback as a freshman. But that’s what happens when plans don’t work out. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Ohio State’s offense lost its rhythm when Julian Sayin was lost for the season. Now the Buckeyes’ ability to score rests largely on whether a freshman quarterback can become a difference maker.
Columbus, OH – Ohio State’s football season careened off course when plans went wrong at the beginning of the offseason.
On Tuesday, Ryan Day tried to explain the predicaments his program finds itself in during this otherwise pleasant November. The factors leading to losses to USC and Oregon eight days apart, stack up like fallen leaves.
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But quarterback play always gets the most attention and lots of blame when losses mount.
At least it should.
Freshman Luke Fahey is the only OSU quarterback to lose his first two starts since at least 1959, maybe longer than that, maybe ever, according to kept records.
Does it seem unfair to point that out about a kid “trying like heck,” as Day said Saturday?
This is Ohio State.
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Annnnnd … coaches love to say quarterback is the most important position, so when a program of Ohio State’s stature loses two straight games to unranked teams, the quarterback play, plan and prognosis don’t get a pass.
Is Fahey solely to blame? No. The defense owns its share. But the backup plan failed.
“You always have to have a plan if somebody gets hurt,” Day said. “We did have a plan in place, but …”
Searching for the next thing to say.
“… having somebody who’s more experienced, you know, to step into, you know, these roles and, you know, be a little bit more comfortable.”
That’s the situation Day wanted, someone with more college football behind him. Fahey, a 5-foot-11, three-star recruit, was never the plan in January. That would be roster-building malpractice.
Day didn’t elaborate, but the plan obviously involved a competition between Bellefontaine five-star sophomore Tavien St. Clair and an experienced transfer.
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St. Clair, for no publicly stated reasons, fell behind Fahey on the depth chart either in the spring or August. Day said Fahey will start again this week, and there’s no compelling reason to think he won’t finish the season as the starter unless he is injured.
“We’re going to do whatever we can to win the game – what gives the team the best chance to win it,” Day began when asked if Fahey will be the starter Saturday against Northwestern. “When we go through the process of making that decision – it ultimately is my decision – I go through a lot of different channels to make sure that I’m getting really good feedback on what everybody else is seeing because it’s a big decision. Coaches, both sides of the ball, players, older guys, guys on offense, receivers, everybody, to find out what am I seeing here? Am I missing something?
“Luke is going to be our quarterback this week, and Tavien’s one snap away. That mentality has got to continue to be his mentality. And if it can continue to improve in practice and build enough trust within practice, and if we feel like he gives us the best chance to win, we’ll make that move. We’re not at that point right now.”
“This is not about Luke Fahey because Luke Fahey is trying his tail off. But like any position, when someone goes down, we have to be able to keep that standard and expectation the same thing, which it is.” – Ryan Day
Day signed fifth-year Justyn Martin out of the transfer portal to be part of the plan. Martin, an L.A. kid like Fahey, appeared in five games in three seasons for UCLA. He transferred to Maryland and played in one game as a senior.
Before spring practice began, Fahey certainly was no more than third in the line of succession to replace Sayin. He seemed like a kid with a Justyn Martin future ahead of him. The coaches obviously believe St. Clair’s abilities, other than his size, arm strength and athleticism, are not equal to Fahey, at least not yet. They talk about Fahey’s ability to process information and his moxie. They don’t say that about St. Clair. If Martin’s name is new to you, there’s a reason for that. He’s not close to getting on the field as long as Fahey and St. Clair are healthy.
The challenge of keeping an able backup on the roster is immense because of the transfer portal. It lures players away with more money and a promise to play. That’s how Day got Will Howard two years ago. It’s why Lincoln Kienholz left to be the starter at Louisville.
And, to be fair, landing a truly capable backup in the portal was always a longshot with Sayin returning as a Heisman finalist. Only career backups like Martin accept that offer.
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“We’re working through a lot of growing pains here, and it’s a challenge to bring in guys and keep them in the program when they aren’t playing after two or three years,” Day said. “That’s the challenge that we’re trying to work through – so is everybody in the country – and something we have to make sure that we’re prepared for.”
Point is, the Buckeyes thought they were closer to being prepared for a season-ending injury than they actually were because the plan didn’t come together.
“This is not about Luke Fahey because Luke Fahey is trying his tail off,” Day said. “But like any position, when someone goes down, we have to be able to keep that standard and expectation the same thing, which it is.”
But expectations don’t always meet standards. And this is why the Buckeyes find themselves ranked No. 21 by the AP with three losses and only slim mathematical hope of making the 12-team playoff.
The offensive struggles of failing to maintain rhythm are about more than offensive line play, the running game, how many times the football is thrown to Jeremiah Smith and play calling in general.
Yes, those things need improvement. But what will help more than anything would be for Fahey – and the outside chance of St. Clair – to become a difference maker.
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The remaining schedule might be just what this team and Fahey needs.
The five losses in the Buckeyes’ last 11 games have all come in what Day, and Urban Meyer before him, refer to as matchup games, games in which the talent equates.
Indiana, Miami, Texas, USC and Oregon have talent that, more or less, equates to Ohio State, and they all beat the Buckeyes. Only last week, Day said Oregon was maybe the most talented team in the country.
Day’s tenure is marked by lots of wins in so-called matchup games, including Indiana in October. He doesn’t lose non-matchup games. Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan’s offense are not matchup opponents.
Fahey will have the opportunity to prove he can be a difference maker against teams the Buckeyes definitely aren’t supposed to lose to. And if he doesn’t?
We might see St. Clair. We might not. Day has never changed starters midseason. He’s never had a backup ready to go.
That wasn’t the plan. But it’s the reality.
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