-
New here? Register here now for access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Plus, stay connected and follow BP on Instagram @buckeyeplanet and Facebook.
QB1 Julian Sayin (All B1G, B1G Frosh of Year, All American, National Frosh of Year, National Champion)
- Thread starter pnuts34
- Start date
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Burning Questions: How good can Julian Sayin be in 2026?
After an outstanding first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, more is expected of Sayin this year.
www.landgrantholyland.com
Burning Questions: How good can Julian Sayin be in 2026?
After an outstanding first season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, more is expected of Sayin this year.Last year around this time Buckeye Nation was wondering if Julian Sayin would be able to replace Will Howard and lead Ohio State to back-to-back national titles.
Shortly after enrolling at Alabama, Sayin transferred to Ohio State after Nick Saban announced his retirement. Sayin would sit behind Howard in 2024, learning the ropes of the Buckeye offense.
As if making your first collegiate start at quarterback wasn’t enough to deal with, Sayin had to do so against the Texas Longhorns, who entered the season opener against Ohio State as the top-ranked team in the country.
While Sayin’s numbers against Texas weren’t sexy, he did everything he was asked to in the 14-7 win. The goal for Sayin against the Longhorns was to get his feet wet and keep his confidence ahead of games against Grambling State and Ohio where he could pad the stat sheet.
All Sayin would go on to do as a redshirt freshman was complete 77 percent of his passes, throw for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Along with being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Sayin was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy, where he finished fourth in the voting.
Despite failing to lead Ohio State to a Big Ten title and another national championship, Sayin did engineer a 27-9 win over Michigan, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Wolverines.
Heading into the 2026 season even more growth is expected from Sayin. Ohio State will likely open the season as the number one ranked team in the country and a major reason for that is because they have Sayin returning behind center.
Along with being the quarterback of a team that will be a serious national title contender, Sayin will likely be in the mix to be invited to New York City in early December for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Not to say that Sayin’s play as a freshman was perfect. In Ohio State’s most important games of the season, Sayin had a hard time finding his footing against Indiana and Miami, completing 43 of his 64 pass attempts for 545 yards, two touchdowns, and three picks while being sacked 10 times over those two games.
Even though those two teams would go on to meet for the national championship, Ohio State could have been Big Ten champs and even national champions if Sayin had been a little more effective in those games.
There also were some short-yardage issues for Sayin, as he failed to convert running the football deep in the red zone against Michigan and Indiana. Buckeye Nation was spoiled the previous season with the way Will Howard was able to put his head down and gain the necessary yards in short-yardage situations, but Sayin isn’t that type of quarterback.
Despite not being a quarterback who is going to have a number of designed runs called for him, Sayin is still big and strong enough to where he shouldn’t have nearly as much trouble picking up a yard or two.
.
.
.
continued
Upvote
0
ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Skull Session: Julian Sayin Ranked As College Football’s Fifth-Best Quarterback, David Gabriel Georges Makes His Commitment Tonight and 19 Buckeyes Make the East-West Bowl 1000
Julian Sayin is ranked as college football’s fifth-best quarterback, David Gabriel Georges will make his college decision tonight and 19 Buckeyes make the East-West Bowl 1000.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S FIFTH-BEST QB. After surveying roughly three dozen coaches, general managers, personnel directors, scouts and front office staffers from around college football, The Athletic’s Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. ranked every projected starting quarterback in the FBS from No. 1 to No. 138.
Ohio State’s Julian Sayin was one of eight quarterbacks who earned a spot in Tier 1, which The Athletic categorized by the following description:
Despite being the only returning Heisman finalist from last season and the reigning national leader in completion percentage, however, Sayin was only ranked as college football’s fifth-best quarterback behind Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Miami’s Darian Mensah.
Khan and Morales wrote that deciding where to rank Sayin was “one of the most polarizing debates,” as they received “a wide range of opinions as to whether Sayin is an elite quarterback or just a product of Ohio State’s system and the talent around him.”
Personally, I agree with the unnamed ACC staffer. Outside of Fernando Mendoza, no quarterback in all of college football was more efficient than Sayin last season – and that was as a first-year starter who had played zero meaningful snaps at the collegiate level before last year. He’s not as athletic as Chambliss and Moore, but no quarterback in college football is more consistently accurate, and the narrative that he’s merely a game manager overlooks how excellent he was throughout the regular season a year ago.
That said, if I’m Ryan Day, I’m showing him the quote from the Big Ten GM first. Sayin already has a chip on his shoulder because of how last season ended, and opinions like that should only fire him up more to lead Ohio State to a national championship, which would be the ultimate way to prove his doubters wrong.
Upvote
0
I wonder if that same scout knocked Burrow, Tua, Bryce Young and Lawrence for them also having a "near perfect setup of surroundings"
Upvote
0
I understand the polar opposite scouting reports to be honest.
Part of me really wonders if the whole , slow vs fast thing last year was because Day knew from the jump he had to really over protect his QB. He didn't go faster because his QB couldn't go faster.
Then I see him be hyper accurate and I just don't know.
This year will tell us.
Part of me really wonders if the whole , slow vs fast thing last year was because Day knew from the jump he had to really over protect his QB. He didn't go faster because his QB couldn't go faster.
Then I see him be hyper accurate and I just don't know.
This year will tell us.
Upvote
0
I can definitely see the view the analyst sees where he's partially successful because of what he has to throw to. I thought Justin Fields was going to be a good to great QB in the NFL.....his game just looked perfect for it. Sometimes that doesn't show up in the NFL, and the obvious question is "how did it work SO WELL in college but not at all in the pros?"
IF Sayin is just throwing to a first or maybe second read, that would translate to failure in the NFL. We saw it last year where sometimes players would be open down field and he would throw underneath.
He's obviously accurate as hell. He mostly makes really good decisions. None of us know if he's reading defenses at an elite level or just throwing to players who are likely going to be open about 90+% of the time. I really hope it's the first option.
IF Sayin is just throwing to a first or maybe second read, that would translate to failure in the NFL. We saw it last year where sometimes players would be open down field and he would throw underneath.
He's obviously accurate as hell. He mostly makes really good decisions. None of us know if he's reading defenses at an elite level or just throwing to players who are likely going to be open about 90+% of the time. I really hope it's the first option.
Upvote
0
No doubt. The question is that because Day/Hartline just didn't coach him up well enough or is it because Day knew what he was doing and kept the training wheels on, purposfully?
I have a lot of faith in Day the OC/QB coach so I lean to the side of; he knew the kid just wasn't ready so let's dumb it way down on offense and lean on the best defense on earth.
They came within 10 points of a NC on that strategy if my guess is even close.
Upvote
0
Julian just announced his relationship with a Miami Ohio smoke show and let's just say I hope he can focus on football. Better hope Musberger doesn't spot her in the stadium during a broadcast.
Upvote
0
bigdog3300
The G.O.A.T.
If Sayin can keep getting physically bigger, I still think he's one of the closest versions of Drew Brees I've seen.
One of the things that impresses me most is he doesn't make the same mistake twice, which for a young QB is hard to do (and something guys like Arch and Dante Moore still haven't done). He's going to be a high first rounder because of his elite decision making and accuracy...come draft time the only thing they'll have to hang their hat on (the haters, that is) will be his size.
One of the things that impresses me most is he doesn't make the same mistake twice, which for a young QB is hard to do (and something guys like Arch and Dante Moore still haven't done). He's going to be a high first rounder because of his elite decision making and accuracy...come draft time the only thing they'll have to hang their hat on (the haters, that is) will be his size.
Upvote
0