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By half of a foot, Ohio State was able to walk out of Bloomington last Saturday with their first top-5 win of the season, revenge for last year’s Big Ten Championship game and arguably the best performance by the defense all season.
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Although, what they left in Indiana was the health of star quarterback Julian Sayin.
The sophomore gunslinger was injured on an Indiana sack that luckily ended up back in the possession of the Buckeyes, but sent Sayin to the locker room in which he returned with his arm in a sling.
This leaves the bye week to figuring out who will take over at quarterback for what looks like the rest of the season.
For whatever quarterback is chosen, they may have a serious weapon next to Jeremiah Smith moving forward in the offense, and it is 5-star freshman Chris Henry Jr.
This is looking to be one of the most critical bye weeks Buckeye fans have seen under Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, as not only does he need to rework this offense under a new quarterback, but prepare him to play a stout Big Ten schedule still ahead.l
Here is what we are hearing about Sayin’s timeline, who looks to be the replacement at quarterback and how the emergence of Henry Jr. can help this offense keep footing.
Julian Sayin Will Be Out Indefinitely
After Ohio State’s narrow victory against Indiana last Saturday, Day announced that Sayin will be out several weeks dealing with the arm injury he suffered in the fourth quarter.
During his press conference Tuesday, several weeks just may be the rest of the season.
Day said the team is putting in a plan as if Sayin will not return this season, leaving the top-15 offense in the hands of either a true freshman or true sophomore.
The release of no true specific timeline from Day about the starting quarterback still leaves a sliver of hope that if this team makes the College Football Playoff, he could return.
Yet, no prediction on when he could return and rather speaking on having a succession plan should leave fans more worrisome about their chances to see the Heisman finalist from 2025 play again this season.
What the question moving forward will be now is if Sayin, who was projected to be a high-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft, returns next season or if he still tests draft waters.
Luke Fahey is Expected to Take Over as Starter, But the Fans Want to see Tavien St. Clair
Sophomore quarterback Tavien St. Clair was expected to be the QB2 for Ohio State heading into this season, until an impressive camp from freshman Luke Fahey made it a battle to start the season.
After both seeing playing time in blowout wins against Ball State and Kent State, it was Fahey who was seen as winning that job.
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That was confirmed when Fahey was thrown into the fire to finish the game against one of the best defenses in the country in Indiana.
While outside of a nice scramble from the freshman for a first down, the inexperience showed in commanding the offense for the final stretch of that game.
Yet, Day and his teammates backed him and believe he has what it takes to lead this team down the stretch.
Even with this, Ohio State fans are pushing to see the former 5-star quarterback St. Clair.
St. Clair showed great arm strength and solid accuracy in this year’s spring game, but was unimpressive in both regular season showings. Although fans have not seen much difference in the play between both him and Fahey during their limited playing time, they think the offense has the best chance moving forward with the 5-star.
If Fahey struggles out of the gate in a matchup at USC on Oct. 31., how fans push to see St. Clair will be a headline moving forward.
Chris Henry Jr. Starting to Emerge Himself as Key Piece of the Offense
Indiana marked Henry Jr.’s first multi-catch game as a Buckeye. It was only two catches, but the significance of them showed a true wrinkle of the larger role we could see forward for the freshman.
He continues to see a lot of man-coverage, and he has shown that he cannot only make the contested catch at his size, but also the speed to get a step on corners covering him.
Smith will continue to see double or even triple coverage all season after what he has done to opposing defenses this season. Also, with a new quarterback the rest of the way, defenses should be even more keen on taking him away and making Fahey process other reads.
From what we have seen from Fahey, he looks to make multiple reads quickly and has a solid processing time in the pocket. This should only benefit Henry Jr. moving forward.
What still needs to be seen is if the freshman can find himself more opportunities than just the deep shots down the field and make himself more of a middle-of-the-field threat.
With the uncertainty of how the quarterback play will look, it is hard to say how much more consistent volume the former 5-star will see, but what he is continuing to show is that he can make dependable catches for this team down the stretch.
Today’s best reads
- What Happened to Tavien St. Clair? Ohio State Has a Major Quarterback Question
- These 3 Things Stood Out the Most in Ohio State’s Win vs. Indiana
- Six Wins, One Heartbreak and a Brutal Second Half Ahead For Ohio State
- How Julian Sayin’s Injury Changes Everything for Ohio State
- Where Do the Buckeyes Go From Here After Julian Sayin’s Injury in Indiana Win?
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/ohiostate as Ohio State Football Mailbag: Julian Sayin’s Injury Timeline, Chris Henry Jr.’s Usage and the Fahey-St. Clair Debate.
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This story was originally published October 21, 2026 at 8:48 AM.