Ohio State 2023 signee Lincoln Kienholz has the right ‘makeup’ to be a Buckeye

Head coach Ryan Day wants a quarterback in every Ohio State recruiting class but the Buckeyes had to wait a while to land their signal caller in the 2023 class. After Brock Glenn committed in late July and then decommitted four months later, the Scarlet and Gray turned their attention to four-star prospect Lincoln Kienholz.

At the time, Kienholz was committed to Washington, but had to reconsider when Day and Scarlet and Gray quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis came calling. Kienholz visited Ohio State for the Michigan game and flipped his commitment two and a half weeks later. He signed with the Buckeyes on the first day of the early signing period last week.

Kienholz is now part of a Scarlet and Gray class that ranks No. 7 in the country, Ohio State’s lowest full class of the Day era. The Buckeyes lost out on a couple of key recruits in this class because they weren’t willing or able to meet the name, image and likeness dollars that other programs were offering up front.

On signing day, Day preferred to focus on the players that did sign with the Scarlet and Gray, mentioning that these 20 players did so “for the right reasons.”

Kienholz is one of those players. He had what is quickly becoming an “old-school” view to picking his college. He isn’t as worried about getting money right now, but rather recognizing the opportunity Ohio State will give him.

“I think Washington had better NIL than Ohio State,” Kienholz told Midco Sports after signing with the Buckeyes. “I think I can go to Washington and get money or I can go to Ohio State and be developed and then potentially reach my goal of going to the NFL.”

Kienholz is a four-star prospect and was the No. 13 quarterback in the country and the No. 172 overall player in the 2023 class. But as recently as the start of his senior year of high school, he was outside the top 840 players in the 247Sports rankings. Coming out of Pierre, South Dakota, there were questions about the competition Kienholz played again, but it became clear to schools like Washington and Ohio State, and a number of others, how talented he is.

Perhaps most impressively, Day liked how quickly Kienholz demonstrated his understanding of what it means to be a Buckeye.

“A multiple sport athlete and a very good multiple sport athlete,” Day described Kienholz. “Played multiple sports but played them very, very well. I liked the way he competed, liked his athleticism, liked his makeup when he came to visit us. He came here, saw the environment and like, ‘I want this.’ And that’s a huge part of it. This isn’t for everybody. Being the starting quarterback for Ohio State is not for everybody. It’s got some unbelievable things, but there’s a lot of things that come with it. He kind of looked at it and was like, ‘This is what I want.’ That was important. I liked his makeup. “

Most importantly, Kienholz has the confidence needed in a Scarlet and Gray quarterback. Like Ohio State’s current starter, C.J. Stroud, Kienholz had to prove himself in high school and was a late bloomer in the recruiting rankings. He did that. Similar to current Buckeye freshman Devin Brown, Kienzholz has the desire to show that he’s better than many people think of him.

“I talked to coach Dennis a lot and he said I need to bet on myself,” Kienholz said. “And I think I kinda took that to heart and I think it shows that stars really don’t matter.”

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Kienholz won’t likely contribute right away for the Scarlet and Gray. While Stroud is expected to head to the NFL after this season, the fight to replace him is likely to be between Brown and Kyle McCord. Kienholz will arrive in June and begin his college career.

But the quarterback has what it takes to play at Ohio State and be successful.

“It’s really exciting. I’m glad I’m done,” Kienholz said. “I mean, it was a really fun experience just for me just to just go out and meet a lot of people. But I’m glad I chose Ohio State and I’m just glad that I’m done.”