When Tavein St Clair joined Ohio, he was clear as day, “There’s not a better place I’d rather be.” Being an Ohio kid through and through, he talked about how it’s been his dream to be a Buckeye. But it is safe to say that duplicating the #1 recruit in the country from “That Team Up North” was not on his cards. But this was Ryan Day’s plan, and well, it worked its magic in the end. 

OSU QB2 Tavien St. Clair ran the team’s scout offense, where he had to emulate Bryce Underwood and his role in practices before the Michigan game. Interestingly, for St. Clair, becoming Bryce Underwood for the scout team was his “favorite” amongst all roles. “Mostly because of the intensity at practice,” Tavien St. Clair said.

“It was almost like they were viewing me as Bryce Underwood that week, so the competitiveness was at an all-time high. Guys were shoulder-checking me and stuff like that after the play. It was fun. It was scrappy. And it was important,” Tavien St. Clair added. Ryan Day’s strategy before the Michigan game was brilliant, and OSU broke its losing streak.

Ohio State defeated Michigan 27-9, and Ryan Day finally won his second game against Michigan. Not many would have known Tavien St. Clair’s contribution. But in hindsight, without St. Clair leading the scout team offense, it probably wouldn’t have been possible. Ideally, donning Underwood’s role would have been awkward for St. Clair since players had to wear Michigan’s winged helmet to simulate the drills.

However, Ryan Day made an exception for St. Clair and allowed him to play without wearing Michigan’s helmet. “I don’t know if I would’ve liked that,” St. Clair said. “The other guys had to, but I was glad they didn’t do that for me. I wouldn’t have been a big fan of that.” Being a Bellefontaine, Ohio, native, the Buckeye fandom always ran in Tavien’s veins, and wearing that winged helmet would have been a step too far.

“I’ve thought about this for a long time – since I was a little kid,” St. Clair said after his commitment. The 6’4″ and 230 lbs 5-star QB was the highest rated Ohio recruit in the 2025 class, and the 3rd ranked QB. He enrolled in January 2025 and started participating in spring drills, undergoing a fierce QB battle with Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin. Although Sayin eventually won the battle, the time for St. Clair would come sooner than later.

Tavien St. Clair opens up on Ryan Day’s trust to become QB1 in the future

Tavien St. Clair was amazing during his high school tenure. The Ohio native threw for 2,536 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior and finished with 3,083 yards in his junior season. That was the time Tavien’s recruitment picked up, and he accumulated 37 touchdowns at an impressive 70.6% efficiency. The 5 star QB from Bellefontaine was motivated by the fact that the Buckeyes had never signed a QB from so close to campus before. Julian Sayin will most likely play for one more season and then declare for the NFL draft. After that, Ryan Day’s trust in St. Clair will come in handy to start as QB1.

“I think he’s had his best week of practice the last week,” Ryan Day said after a practice in November last year. “[he] had a good day [on Tuesday]. Making some good throws. He has the potential, and he’s gaining on it every day.”

Tavien was also positive about his outlook. “He’s a fan of the deep ball. He likes when me and him are over there working with the receivers on deep ball…That’s probably when I get the nicest comments from him,” St. Clair said about Ryan Day. “We work deep balls, and he always has me come with him to throw the deep balls to the receivers because he’s like, ‘You can put it out there to wherever I want you to put it.”

Ohio State enters the 2026 season with one of the highest portal attrition rates and lost more than 35 players. To offset that, Ohio State has a 3rd ranked 2026 class and added 28 commits, including two five-star talents. On top of that, Day has also added 17 transfers this year, including players like Vesean Washington and LSU’s Kyle Parker. As for St. Clair, he will definitely earn significant reps behind Sayin and get ready for the 2027 season as QB1.