Ohio State freshman quarterback Julian Sayin (10) catches the ball during warmups before the spring game at the ‘Shoe April 12, 2025. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
On Aug. 18, Ryan Day announced that Julian Sayin is no longer just a promising 5-star talent on the depth chart for Ohio State. He’s now QB1.
With a bright future ahead as a Buckeye, the redshirt freshman from Carlsbad, California, is worth getting to know.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound quarterback graduated from Carlsbad High School, and in 2023, was named Elite 11 Finals MVP – one of the highest honors for high school quarterbacks – with past winners like C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields.
The quarterback’s journey to Columbus, however, was far from linear.
After enrolling early at Alabama, he transferred following head coach Nick Saban’s retirement and the arrival of a new coaching staff. The Buckeyes saw this as a clear opportunity.
Once ranked as one of the top quarterbacks in the 2024 recruiting class, his transfer to Ohio State added immediate interest to an already competitive quarterback pool.
“I definitely made the right decision coming up here,” Sayin said. “It came down to a lot of factors, but I really wanted to be at a school with great tradition and great quarterback history.”
Sayin appeared in four games playing for Ohio State during the 2024 season, logging 27 snaps and completing 5 of 12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. In the race to uphold the spot as starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, his main competition was junior Lincoln Kienholz, who has not played since the 2023 Cotton Bowl in Missouri.
Sayin’s recent surge set him over the top.
“He’s done a good job about being consistent and taking care of the football,” offensive coordinator Brian Hartline said. “He’s done a good job with giving the guys an opportunity to make plays, and I just think it’s the body of work.”
The body of work, especially Sayin’s poise and ability to lead the offense, is ultimately what led to Day naming the redshirt freshman the starter amid the monster week one matchup against Texas.
“He’s smart, poised, has good composure,” Day “[Sayin] has good timing, and has really built command and confidence as time has gone on.”
But as always, when there is a first-time starter, there is a shadow of the unknown around Sayin. However, Day and the team have full confidence that the young quarterback is the guy to lead the Buckeyes to their first back-to-back championship.
“He knows that the team and the coaches have confidence in him,” Day said. “We’ve worked them hard in practice. It’s our job to make sure when they’re out there, it’s as game-like as possible. When he gets in the game, we told him–let it rip. Go get it, man. Play with confidence because that’s what all the preparation rewards you with.”
