COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Julian Sayin is back, bigger and stronger for a second season as the starting quarterback at Ohio State.Will he be better?That is among the biggest questions facing the Buckeyes, who finished No. 5 in the Associated Press poll last season after spending most of the year at No. 1.From a statistical standpoint, improving will not be easy.Sayin threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns with eight interceptions in 2025, when he won the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year award and was a Heisman Trophy finalist.He set single-season Ohio State program record with a completion percentage of 77.0, good for third all time in the NCAA behind Bo Nix and Mac Jones, but he was possibly a quarter, a drive or even a throw away from winning the Heisman.With the Buckeyes trailing Indiana 13-10 in the third quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game in December, Sayin got them to the Indiana 5, but they turned it over on downs when his knee went down short of the line to gain on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak.
On the following drive, Sayin then got them back to the Indiana 9, but his third down pass to Bennett Christian was broken up in the end zone, and Jayden Fielding missed a short field goal that would have tied the game with 2:48 left.That meant the Big Ten championship and Heisman Trophies went to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza instead, and the IU signal-caller went on to lead the Hoosiers to the national title before becoming the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft by the Las Vegas Raiders.
