“It's a dream job”: Billy Fessler has an ecstatic reaction to becoming Ohio State's quarterback coach

Billy Fessler was promoted to Ohio State quarterback coach this offseason following the departure of Chip Kelly for the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Penn State quarterback served as an offensive analyst in Columbus last season and now takes on a positional coach role.

Before returning to Ohio State, where he served as a graduate assistant in 2021, last year, Billy Fessler worked at Akron as a quarterback coach before adding offensive coordinator duty. Taking over the Buckeyes quarterback coach job, he is more than ecstatic at the opportunity.

"Being the quarterbacks' coach at Ohio State is an honor. It's a dream job," Fessler said. "When I was given the opportunity — just completely honored."

Fessler will work toward ensuring that Ohio State remains strong in quarterback plays. He will collaborate with offensive coordinator Brian Hartline to ensure the Buckeyes boast an explosive offense in the 2025 season and defend the national title.

Billy Fessler offers his view on the Ohio State quarterback battle

One of Billy Fessler's major duties in his new role is to find Ohio State's next starting quarterback. With Will Howard off to the NFL, the Buckeyes will have to pick his successor from the trio of Lincoln Kienholz, Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair.

Fessler offered his early view on the three on Friday, starting with Kienholz. The redshirt sophomore is the most experienced of the three options, and the coach appreciates his work ethic.

"Let's start with Lincoln," Fessler said. "Lincoln has definitely stepped up from a leadership perspective. You can see the way he attacks workouts ... I've seen that growth from Lincoln. That's really exciting.

Speaking on Julian Sayin, Fessler discussed how the former Alabama enrollee was up for some role in the team last season.

"As for Julian, last year, going into the year, he was competing (to be Howard's backup) and ended up not winning the job,” Fessler said. “He could have turned it down, been bummed out and not attacked it the right way, but I saw him continue to grow throughout the year. I saw him learn from Will.”

St. Clair enters his freshman season at Ohio State in the fall. The five-star recruit has already enrolled at the university, and Fessler has a huge appreciation for his commitment.

"And then Tavien comes in, and Tavien should still be in high school," the QB coach said. "Instead, he's in my office all the time learning the offense … His commitment to wanting to be great and wanting to be at a level where he can go out and compete in the spring has been really impressive.”

Without a doubt, Ohio State needs a top-quality quarterback to keep the team competitive next season.