Tavien St. Clair says he’s brought “the confidence and the swagger that Ohio State plays with” back to his team at Bellefontaine as he’s seen “a vibe of domination” from this year’s Buckeyes.
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Tavien St. Clair Sees “Vibe of Domination” at Ohio State This Season, Bringing “Confidence and Swagger” Back to Bellefontaine
Six days after watching Ohio State earn a 56-0 win over Western Michigan, Tavien St. Clair led Bellefontaine High School to a similarly dominant performance on Friday night.
The Chiefs earned a 49-0 win over crosstown foe Benjamin Logan in their fourth game of the season, and the scoreboard likely would have been even more lopsided if not for Bellefontaine pulling its starters in the fourth quarter and OHSAA’s second-half running clock for games with margins of 30 points or more.
Bellefontaine didn’t need St. Clair to throw a lot of passes in the game, but he was highly efficient on the ones he did throw, completing all but one of his 11 passing attempts for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He put his arm strength and athleticism on display as he connected with Braylon Newcomb for a pair of deep-ball touchdowns, showed excellent ability to throw on the run with accuracy and also had a spectacular scramble that would have been a touchdown run if not for a holding penalty.
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Additional quotes from Tavien St. Clair
On playing with his younger brother Reign, a freshman quarterback at Bellefontaine
“It's like a fairy tale. Like, you love to suit up and play with your brothers out here – my teammates are my brothers – but having an actual little brother as a teammate and get to see him through the ups and downs and be able to coach him and things like that, I couldn't have asked for a better situation.
“He has all the potential in the world. He can throw the ball really well. He's going to do the same thing as me. He's going to work hard in the weight room, and he's going to see what his body’s capable of. And I think that’ll help him with confidence just like it helped me. So, it'll be really big for his maturity. And, you know, at the end of the day, he's got a really high ceiling.”
On Jeremiah Smith’s strong start at Ohio State
“I tried to tell people he's not a normal freshman. And I think we're seeing that unfold on Saturdays, and it's really cool because I have a close relationship with Jeremiah. And on my OV, he was my host. So, I really got to grow the relationship there, and it's been really cool seeing him flourish.
“He's low-key. He doesn't like to go out and do things like that, which I gravitated towards a lot. Just his comfortability here in Columbus and in Ohio, being from Florida. He's straight down to business, cares about what he does, and he's not going to do anything (negative off the field) that will affect him on the field. He's a pro at what he does.”
On the receivers in his recruiting class
“I talk to them about their games all the time, every week. And, you know, they're ballers. Coach Hartline knows how to recruit, and I think we're in a better situation this year just because we've got some guys that are flying under the radar, and they're really dudes. Like, Phillip Bell's a dude. Quincy Porter's a dude. Bodpegn (Miller)'s a dude. We're deep. That's all I've got to say. And it's going to be really fun.”
On the current Ohio State receivers he’ll get to play with next year
“I think with Brandon (Inniss) and Bryson (Rodgers) and Carnell (Tate) and all those guys, it's a really strong group. And Mylan Graham with Jeremiah. That group of guys is hungry to play. And they're really great players. So I'm just looking to see what the next step is because I know they're going to be able to play. That's what we recruit at Ohio State, just ballplayers. So, I'm really eager to see what that holds.”
