Julian Sayin is officially Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
Ryan Day announced Monday that Sayin will be the starter for Ohio State’s season opener against Texas. The five-star redshirt freshman beat out redshirt sophomore Lincoln Kienholz to win the job.
The No. 1-ranked quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, Sayin was viewed as the frontrunner to be Ohio State’s starting QB this season from the moment he transferred to Ohio State last January following a brief enrollment at Alabama. But he faced real competition this spring and summer from Kienholz, who led the quarterback battle until a strong spring game showing by Sayin, according to Day.
Over the past two-and-a-half weeks, however, Sayin did enough to show Day, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline and quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler that he was the right man to lead Ohio State’s offense, giving the Buckeyes’ preseason quarterback competition the outcome that most expected.
After playing in just four games as Ohio State’s third-string quarterback last year, in which he completed five of 12 passing attempts for 84 yards and a touchdown and ran for 24 yards on two carries, Sayin will be put to the test immediately in his first career start as the Buckeyes host the No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns on Aug. 30 at Ohio Stadium.
The highly anticipated showdown between Ohio State and Texas will feature two of the nation’s most-hyped new starting quarterbacks, as Sayin will go head-to-head with Arch Manning, who enters his first year as Texas’ starter after backing up Quinn Ewers for the last two seasons.
Kienholz will enter the season as Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback behind Sayin. Tavien St. Clair will be the Buckeyes’ third-string quarterback. Day said Kienholz will continue to take some first-team reps so he’s ready to play, but Sayin will now take the majority of reps with the starters going into the Texas game.
Source link
