Julian Sayin is out indefinitely after suffering a serious right-arm injury during the Buckeyes’ narrow 19-15 win over Indiana. In response, instead of going to five-star local talent Tavien St. Clair, head coach Ryan Day chose three-star freshman Luke Fahey to replace him that game, a decision that did not sit well with a good section of the Buckeyes fan base, including legendary former head coach Urban Meyer. And now, going ahead, it is a contest between the two QBs, who will get equal reps during their bye week before the Oct. 31 matchup against USC.
One of the primary reasons behind the backlash is that Fahey is perceived as being too short for the Buckeyes’ traditional offense. Officially listed at 5’11”, he is arguably one of the shortest starting-caliber quarterbacks to take meaningful snaps for the program since Cornelius Greene, also 5’11”, in 1973-75. This has led many fans to wonder whether he can even see over his towering offensive line while standing in the pocket.
However, a recently circulating picture of the quarterback corps standing side by side with Julian Sayin on the practice field has given fans reason to believe that someone might not be entirely honest about their height.
On October 21, the X account that goes by Ohio State Going Back-to-Back shared a picture highlighting the apparent height difference and captioned it “#somebodylying.”
According to Ohio State’s official athletic media guide, Sayin is listed at a solid 6’1″, while Fahey is reportedly two inches shorter at 5’11”.
However, looking at the two standing right next to each other on the field, the eye test tells a completely different story. In the viral image, Luke Fahey appears to be as tall as Julian Sayin. If Sayin is truly 6’1″, Fahey looks at least 6’0″. Or could it simply be Fahey’s hairstyle?
Then again, college football programs are notorious for adding a little extra height to their star players’ profiles to make them look more imposing to NFL scouts and opposing teams.
This apparent height discrepancy adds fuel to the fire for critics who believe the coaching staff’s evaluations may be missing the mark. When it comes to quarterbacks, height can create practical challenges on Saturdays, particularly when it comes to scanning the field over a massive, elite Big Ten offensive line or finding clean passing lanes against top-tier defensive fronts.
Against Indiana, Fahey’s performance did little to ease those concerns. The three-star freshman went 0-for-2, and some Buckeyes fans are already worried that his potential physical limitations could become a snag for the team. Meanwhile, that doesn’t seem to be a problem with 6’4″ Tavien St. Clair as the true starter.
However, Ryan Day has expressed full confidence in Fahey’s ability to take over the quarterback mantle.
“He’s got confidence. He’s got athletic ability. He’s a competitive kid, so I don’t think the moment was too big for him. It was just moving fast for him, and if he had a few more drives, he would’ve found the speed of the game.”
The three-star freshman has put together a rather intriguing, if somewhat inconsistent, statistical profile so far compared to St. Clair.
On the one hand, his accuracy on short throws looks impressive on paper, with an 81.8% completion rate before the Indiana game. He also recorded 203 passing yards and two touchdowns in two games against Ball St. and Kent St. On the other hand, his aggressive decision-making also resulted in two costly interceptions.
Not to mention, according to the reports, Fahey has already beaten St. Clair in the pre-season practice to land the QB2 role!
Despite the surrounding concern, Day appears determined to let both Fahey and St. Clair push each other to their limits during the bye week. Until the team takes the field for its next big matchup against USC at the Coliseum, the mystery of the disappearing inches will continue to hover over the Buckeyes’ quarterback room.
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