The Ohio State State Buckeyes secured five-star quarterback recruit Tavien St. Clair in December, adding one of the five best players in the nation to a top-five recruiting class. Just months after stepping onto campus, the Ohio native is already making an impression on the Buckeyes coaching staff.
St. Clair made a name for himself at Bellefontaine High School. After completing 70.6 percent of his pass attempts with over 3,000 passing yards and 37 touchdowns as a junior, the 6-foot-4 quarterback drew national attention. He became an Elite 11 finalist, winning the accuracy competition last summer, cementing himself as one of the best quarterback recruits in his class.
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- Tavien St. Clair stats (2024): 2,536 passing yards, 29 touchdowns in 11 games
He had been on the Buckeyes’ radar long before that, receiving an offer on May 24, 2023. One month later, St. Clair committed to his dream school on June 21 and he stuck with that commitment to signing day in December 2024.
Multiple outlets, including Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, believed that St. Clair’s best comparison is former Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields. It’s a lofty comp, given. FIelds was a two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and earned second-team All-American honors in 2019. Early into practices, though, it seems the Buckeyes coaching staff is seeing the same thing with some glimpses of an even better skill set from the freshman quarterback.
- Justin Fields college stats: 5,373 passing yards 63-9 TD-INT, 68.4% completion rate, 867 rushing yards, 15 rushing touchdowns in 22 starts with Ohio State Buckeyes
Pete Nakos of On3.com wrote about true freshmen who were already generating buzz early into the offseason with their teams. Among the multiple freshmen standouts highlighted on the Buckeyes roster, one Ohio State official mentioned St. Clair as a standout with one thing he does better than Fields.
“We’ve heard a lot of the Justin Fields comparison before [quarterback] Tavien [St. Clair] got here and once he got here. I think he can spin it a little better, but physically he has similar traits.
Anonymous program official to On3.com on Ohio State Buckeyes QB Tavien St. Clair
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With Buckeyes starting quarterback Will Howard entering the 2025 NFL Draft, there is a competition to replace him in 2025. While St. Clair will be given a shot to win the job, Julian Sayin is the favorite right now.
However, it should only be a matter of time until St. Clair sees the field and the buzz regarding his physical tools, work ethic and the early progress he’s made all bode well for him to become Ohio State’s next All-American quarterback.
