Ohio State Football: Lincoln Kienholz named USA Today athlete of the year

All eyes in Columbus, Ohio, this fall are on redshirt sophomore Kyle McCord and redshirt freshman Devin Brown as they battle it out to be the next starting quarterback for Ohio State football. Considering the fact that the past three starting quarterbacks at Ohio State have all been NFL first-round draft picks, it’s no wonder why this quarterback competition has become the focus of so many.

But that doesn’t mean that there isn’t another quarterback on the roster who should be given some attention.

Freshman quarterback Lincoln Kienholz was named the USA Today’s boys best high school athlete in the country for 2022-23. Kienholz was a three-sport athlete in Pierre, S.D., at T.F. Riggs High School starting for the varsity football, basketball, and baseball teams. Kienholz finished his high school career as the all-time leader in passing yards in South Dakota high school history. He also finished his baseball career with a .472 batting average to go with a 1.24 ERA and in basketball he was a Class AA all-state selection averaging 20 points and seven rebounds.

Kienholz chose Ohio State over the University of Washington after decommitting from the Huskies in 2022 and becoming the top target for Ryan Day and the Ohio State coaching staff late last December. He was the 11th highest-ranked quarterback in the class according to the 247sports composite rankings and had a national ranking of 138.

Last week at the Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis, Day had the following statement about Kienholz when asked about the backup quarterback position.

"“Lincoln has stepped in and very surprised with just his approach. Been really impressed with (him, and it) doesn’t seem too big for Lincoln. He’s very athletic. He’s learning. He’s got a long way to go. He came in (during) the summer but (we are) excited to have him here.”"

Kienholz might actually be fourth on the depth chart currently with McCord and Brown battling it out for the starter and backup positions. Oregon State senior transfer Tristan Gebbia is probably the third-string quarterback, but after this season, Gebbia will graduate and more than likely whichever quarterback doesn’t win the starting position will transfer, making Kienholz the backup as a redshirt freshman in 2024.