For the third fall camp in as many years, the Ohio State quarterback battle has dominated the headlines. In 2022, it was Kyle McCord vs. Devin Brown. Last year, Brown lost out to Will Howard. For months, Ryan Day said that the battle was as close as can be. Whether he was being genuine or it was all coachspeak, the perceived favorite has officially won the battle.
The starting quarterback for the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes will be redshirt freshman, number 10 from Solana Beach, California, Julian Sayin. This year, third-year quarterback Lincoln Kienholz and the former five-star and Alabama transfer (this will be the last time we refer to him as “the Alabama transfer”) battled it out to be the next face of the program.
Julian Sayin Has Officially Won the Ohio State Quarterback Battle
As he did with every quarterback battle in his career, Day kept this year’s close to the vest. Heading into Spring workouts and the Spring Game, it was reportedly a neck-and-neck race. After the Spring Game, the overwhelming feeling is that Saiyan was going to be the next starting quarterback. Last year, he was the second man off the bench in mop-up duty and appeared in three regular-season games as well as the College Football Playoff game against Tennessee. In his 27 snaps, Sayin attempted all of 12 passes and completed five. With those five completions, Sayin totaled 84 yards and a touchdown.
Then, in the Spring Game, he stole the show. Sayin completed 17 of his 24 attempts for 175 yards and a touchdown. He had a handful of pinpoint-accurate passes and showed that his development is going according to plan, hence the hype leading into the fall.
Sayin was a five-star recruit and transferred to the Buckeyes shortly after Nick Saban retired. There were concerns about his size and arm strength. However, after the Spring Game, and how much the coaching staff and his teammates raved, those concerns have been exorcised. Jeremiah Smith recently gushed about him, saying, “That arm is different. He can make any and every throw. Just a smart quarterback. Like me, he’s a little quiet. But he’s starting to come out of [his] shell. He’s definitely going to be a guy. It’s going to be scary for opponents.”
The Legendary Super Sayin
It doesn’t get better than getting to start the Sayin era than to host the number-one-ranked team in the nation at home. Sure, the game should be under the lights, but the horse is dead at this point.
He is the most accurate passer Day has coached at Ohio State, and, considering he had C.J. Stroud and Justin Fields, that’s saying something. He doesn’t have to be a Heisman-worthy player for Ohio State to succeed. However, if the reports are to be taken at face value, he may make at least one trip to New York City for the ceremony in his career.
If there is an opportunity for any quarterback in the nation to just step in and be set up for success, it’s Ohio State. The wide receiver room is loaded and is led by the top player in all of college football. The offensive line might be even better than last year’s Joe Moore Award Semifinalist group. A tight end room of Will Kacmarek, Max Klare, and Jelani Thurman could be the best Ohio State has had in a long time. Not to mention, “Sonic and Knuckles,” the one-two punch at running back with James Peoples and CJ Donaldson.
Time will tell, but there’s a reason players, coaches, fans, and local media are excited for Sayin to take the field.
Main Image: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
