Former Ohio State Quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has committed to Louisville to be the next quarterback of the Cardinals. He is the first domino to fall for Buckeye transfers.
Former Ohio State Buckeyes' quarterback Lincoln Kienholz has officially committed to Louisville to become the next quarterback of the Cardinals.
Kienholz is the first domino to fall for Buckeye transfers, of which there are many, after their run to defend their College Football Playoff National Championship fell short on Wednesday night in Dallas.
Kienholz's career never got off the ground in Columbus. He came in as an extremely talented four-star recruit in 2023, but was stuck behind Will Howard, and then was eventually beaten out by Julian Sayin during fall camp this year for the starting position.
The stats on his career are bare. He finished just 21-36 for 250 yards and one touchdown through the air, while he carried it 17 times for 68 yards and two scores on the ground. Kienholz is held in high regard by his teammates and Buckeye Nation at large as someone who gave everything he had to the Ohio State Program.
The reality of the situation is that he has dreams to play in the NFL, and to get there, you need to play football. It is unlikely that he would ever see the field in Columbus, as he is already behind a younger Sayin, with former five-star quarterback Tavien St. Clair waiting in the wings to take the spot after Sayin.
Kienholz entered the portal as a three-star transfer prospect and is landing with Jeff Brohm and the Cardinals, who went 9-4 this season. While finishing with a 9-4 record, Louisville did get off to a 7-1 start with a win over the Miami Hurricanes when they were ranked #2 in the country.
Louisivlle got as high up as #15 in the country before three consectutive losses to California, Clemson, and SMU which put a damper on their season. They finished it with a big win over their in-state rival, Kentucky, before their Bowl Game win over the Toledo Rockets.
Kienholz gets to Louisville with two years of eligibility remaining and will be competing with the incumbent, Miller Moss, who has one year of eligibility left. Although the writing on the wall says that Kienholz is going to have a very good chance at winning the job and getting his first real, meaningful reps as a starting quarterback in College Football.
For the Buckeyes, this transfer doesn't mean much for the current state of their roster. Juian Sayin will likely remain the starting quarterback for Ohio State, and it is likely that, sooner rather than later, they are going to want to see what they have in St. Clair before he gets uncomfortable in his backup position.
There are a lot of changes left to be made as the transfer portal window stays open for the next two weeks. Kienholz is the first Buckeye to fall, and there is much more to come.