For Tavien St. Clair, the dream of playing quarterback for The Ohio State University began long ago. That dream became a reality on Monday, March 17, 2025, during the first spring practice when he took his first snap as a Buckeye. The freshman quarterback from Bellefontaine, Ohio, is now navigating the high expectations and intense competition that come with donning the scarlet and gray.

“I think the first time that I had taken a snap with my offense on the field,my group of offense on the field,it was like,‘This is actually happening now,and it’s not just a dream that I’m trying to make happen. It was a dream that I’m living now,’” St. Clair shared on Wednesday, March 19, reflecting on his initial experiences.

So far, the experience has lived up to the hype. St. Clair stated, “It’s been everything I thought it would be coming to ohio State.I’ve had plenty of meetings with quarterback coaches, I’ve had great counsel and great leadership from the older guys in the room, and just other players on the team as well, just getting wisdom from them. It’s been great, learning the culture and really trying to just enhance myself in it and just be a great part of this team and really just showcase what this team is all about.”

He further emphasized his gratitude and commitment: “And so I just take every opportunity I can. I’m blessed to be here. I love it here. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Here’s a look at st. Clair’s early days as a Buckeye:

Prior to enrolling early, St. Clair leveraged his commitment to the program, made in June 2023 shortly after receiving his offer, to familiarize himself with the Ohio State surroundings. This proactive approach allowed him to assist fellow mid-year enrollees upon their arrival.

“The relationships that I built with the people in this facility and that I built with the coaches being around them almost every day during the spring or just during camps or anything like that, I was around so often that I was familiar with this place and I was able to help other freshmen come in and kind of direct them into the role of where things are at and where they need to be and things like that,” St. clair explained. “So I definitely thought it was very vital for my development here and my transition here, it was really smooth because of it.”

He contrasted his experience with that of redshirt freshman julian Sayin,who transferred from Alabama. “I’m not really sure how other freshman quarterbacks have felt coming in here, but I know for me, I did feel a little bit more pleasant than talking to (redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin) about his transition last year from Bama to here. Just how it was a little bit easier for me. just the familiarity with the facility and the people and the coaches.So the relationships are already built and they kind of understand how I learn and how I operate in my mind. So they’ve been able to coach me and adapt to how I learn and teach me the right things.”

Enrolling early allowed st. Clair to observe the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff campaign, witnessing their victories over Tennessee, Oregon, Texas, and Notre Dame. This experience provided him with insights into the demands of competing for a national championship.

The team’s veterans emphasized the challenges ahead. “A lot of them where like, it’s going to be hard. ohio State is not for everybody. It’s not easy mentally or physically, but once you persevere through that and you push through it and you lean on your brothers next to you, you feel like you can accomplish anything and you’ll come out a better person as of it,” St. Clair recalled.

Learning from the Veterans

St. Clair specifically focused on learning leadership qualities from Will Howard, last year’s starting quarterback.

“the better leadership that you have for your team and the closer relationships that you have,the longer it’ll take you,” St. Clair noted. “Everybody loved Will. He was comfortable talking to anybody. And that’s something I’m going to carry with me, just trying to be familiar with everybody, know everybody, know everything about them. And that’s really been the main focus, just building relationships with people that I don’t normally talk to, and really just trying to build that chemistry around the team has been the main focus.”

Despite his familiarity with the program, St. Clair acknowledges the learning curve.One adjustment is taking snaps under center, a skill not emphasized in his high school offense. His primary goal is continuous improvement.

“I just wanted to come here and learn and soak up everything that I could from these coaches and these players,” St. Clair said. “They execute at the highest level and that’s the main thing that I wanted to come in and do and that’s what I’m focusing on right now. Just each day, getting better, continuing to better myself and become a better person and a better player.Everything else will fall into place.”

Coaching Outlook: Billy Fessler on St. clair’s Development

Ohio State quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler emphasizes the importance of continued learning for st. Clair, despite his prior exposure to the program.

“Ultimately, he’s still a guy that should be in high school,” Fessler stated. “Does it help that he was around all spring last spring and in a bunch of meetings? Yeah, I think so. But at the end of the day, he’s sitting there in those meetings, but he still has his own offense to go run in the following fall. So his mind is more on that probably than it is on really

What do you, the reader, think will be his biggest challenge?