If you think Ryan Day will sit and kick his feet up after last year’s championship win, think again. This man is still intensely focused. Remember Will Howard shutting down Texas’ playoff hopes in last year’s Cotton Bowl? With Howard moving to the NFL, Day is not slowing down. Best part? Ohio State opens up the season against Texas again in 2025, and while the Longhorns immensely build up Arch Manning, the Buckeyes have their own cannon-arm QB ready to shine. They have 3 QBs battling it out, which has largely become a two-horse race between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz, with one of them poised to take Howard’s place in ruining the Longhorns’ sleep.
Ryan Day is playing strategically; he’s prepared, and he intends to dominate before Texas even blinks. And his 19-year-old weapon? It’s former Alabama transfer Julian Sayin, who’s turning heads this spring. Even Ryan Day is head over heels over this young QB’s talent, as he said, “I thought Julian, for the most part, early on, was in rhythm and moved the team down the field for a couple of touchdowns, which was good. Made some nice throws.” Despite that, Day hasn’t picked out his QB1 yet, as he is closely observing Sayin and Kienholz, with freshman Tavien St. Clair in the mix.
However, what’s interesting is that despite Ryan Day’s apparent uncertainty, NFLRookieWatch’s IG account declared Julian Sayin as Ohio State’s starting QB. But why? “Julian Sayin has an absolute CANNON for his right arm. Several personnel around the Ohio State football program reportedly believe Sayin has ‘wrapped up’ the QB competition, even though the QB1 has not been officially named.” Well, Sayin’s arm talent, quick decision-making, and release are creating a buzz throughout this year’s spring practice.
And on top of that, NFLRookieWatch adds another level of praise to Julian Sayin’s gameplay, drawing an interesting parallel: “Multiple NFL scouts reportedly believe there’s ‘a lot of Bryce Young’ as well as Drew Brees to Sayin’s game. One AFC scout even reportedly believes Sayin has a ‘higher ceiling’ than Justin Fields (former OSU QB) did. If all goes as planned, Sayin’s first game as the Buckeyes QB1 will come against Arch Manning ” Now, two sophomores going up against each other is sure going to be interesting. But let’s not forget Arch Manning has still taken more snaps than Julian Sayin in CFB.
Manning, backing up for Quinn Ewers, threw for 939 yards with 9 TDs and two interceptions with a completion rate of 67.8%. Whereas Sayin threw his first college TD against Western Michigan last season and didn’t see much of the field. So, let’s see if he can live up to the hype.
Despite the hype, questions linger about the Ohio State quarterback. If Sayin (6-foot-1) wins the starting job, he’d be the shortest QB the Buckeyes have had since Day rolled into Columbus back in 2017. Day’s previous starters—C.J. Stroud, Justin Fields, Kyle McCord, and Dwayne Haskins—were all 6-foot-3. Will Howard, who Sayin learned from last year, is a towering 6-foot-4. Heck, even J.T. Barrett, who people thought was short, was listed at 6-foot-2 by Ohio State (though he measured an inch shorter at the Combine). And Sayin’s own teammates in the QB room, Lincoln Kienholz and Tavien St. Clair, are both taller at 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-4.
You’d think playing behind an O-line that averages around 6-foot-5.5 would make it tough for a shorter guy like Sayin to see over them, but Day doesn’t seem to think that’ll hold the young QB back. “Well, you’re in the trees; you have to find passing lanes,” Day said. “Does it affect how we call plays? Not really. I mean, there are certainly things that are easier to do than others. But at the end of the day, there are a lot of guys of his stature that are playing in the NFL and have played a high level of college football. So he’s certainly tall enough.” There are plenty of QBs with that frame, like Joe Theismann or Doug Flutie, but both of them shone bright. So, it looks like the QB1 buzz isn’t stopping anytime soon.
Julian Sayin’s QB1 role gets a push
The fight for the starting quarterback position at Ohio State continues from spring to summer. While Coach Ryan Day hasn’t named a starting quarterback, he says it’s still a tie between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. Fall camp is still months off, but the speculation is intense, with ESPN analyst Greg McElroy already offering his prediction.
McElroy, Alabama’s former quarterback, plants his flag with Sayin. He believes Sayin might win the job “if the battle had to be decided right now.” Even when Ryan Day said both QBs stand “neck and neck.” Chase Brown of Eleven Warriors also reported the same, that Day said the starting job is a “two-man race” between Sayin and Kienholz. “Ryan Day said Julian Sayin, Lincoln Kienholz, and Tavien St. Clair all had good moments during Ohio State’s spring game,” Brown tweets on X. “He called the Buckeyes’ quarterback battle ‘a two-horse race’ between Sayin and Kienholz.” But Julian Sayin’s strong spring game showing stood out to McElroy despite some inconsistencies.
“If you listen to what’s going on in the spring, it sounds like it’s been a little bit of a challenge. Maybe it’s been a little bit up and down, which, by the way, is good,” McElroy said. “If it’s always good all the time, then how do you know how he’s going to respond to adversity? You want him to maybe go through some troubles. Maybe have two or three practices where he doesn’t play well, only to see him bounce back. But he finished on a really high note [during the spring game].”
In the spring game, Sayin completed 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards, orchestrating three consecutive touchdown drives to start the game. Kienholz responded with an impressive performance: 12 of 18 for 158 yards and two touchdowns. His 51-yard slant pass to Mylan Graham was a highlight, proving this quarterback competition is far from settled.
However, McElroy still has faith in the freshman’s potential for future success. “I do think [the starting quarterback is] going to be Julian Sayin. I’m not saying he solidified himself as the starter, because he’s competing against Lincoln Kienholz, who has been really impressive.” He added, “I think in time, [Sayin’s] talent and his ceiling will allow him to emerge just a little bit. So I anticipate him being the guy.”
And on top of that, McElroy praised Kienholz for raising the bar, pushing Sayin to refine his skills. “But this has been outstanding, that Sayin has had to compete every single day against a guy in Lincoln Kienholz that has proven the ability to improve drastically from where we saw him play a couple of years ago against Missouri, regardless of whoever steps out there on the field at quarterback for Ohio State.” Now, let’s wait and see who steps up to be the starting QB for Ryan Day’s entitled championship army. But for now, the hype is pointing straight at Julian Sayin.
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