Arthur Smith has the utmost trust in Julian Sayin to run the offense this season. Smith is going to let Sayin handle the "game within the game" for Ohio State and avoid being bogged down by analytical substitutions and pre-snap shifts at the line of scrimmage.
Sayin has earned Smith's trust to run a more old-school offensive game plan in the bland modern age of indistinct offenses from team to team. Smith shared his belief that "cadence is a weapon." Smith clearly likes Sayin's natural cadence.
“Operation is key. I don't care what level...you want to be clean operating, and you want to be able to change up the pace…Cadence is a weapon," Smith said. “Sayin can handle that stuff and really the whole offense… and that’s what makes Julian unique.”
Smith is pro-human football. The Buckeyes are about to be a bunch of ballers being allowed to ball. While this writer was once harsh on the Smith hire, trusting his players' abilities and not trying to micromanage every snap is a godsend.
After all, OSU has always had an elite talent base. These talents might as well be allowed to do what they do best. It's what got them to an institution like The Ohio State University on a football scholarship in the first place.
Julian Sayin knows what he's doing with the ball in his hands
You could knock Sayin for being tentative about leaving the pocket last season, especially against Indiana and Miami down the stretch. One would hope that another offseason under his belt will fix some of the decision-making against elite defenses like the Hoosiers and Canes last December. Even still, Sayin was by and large brilliant with the ball in his hands in 2025.
Sayin broke the program record for completion percentage last year. He completed a whopping 77% of his passes. Credit his all-world receivers for getting open and an elite offensive line for keeping him protected. Still, Sayin excelled on passes beyond 20 yards, completing over 70% of such throws. He didn't just toss checkdown after checkdown to inflate that number.
A big part of Smith's job is to make sure Sayin isn't lost after initial reads don't materialize. It sounds like Sayin is giving Smith hope that he will use better judgment this fall.
Arthur Smith embracing Matt Patricia's expertise and vice versa
Another brilliant move by Smith this offseason is embracing defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's expertise to help with game planning. Patricia is doing the same thing for the defense by leaning on Smith. The former NFL head coaches are making their job a collaborative one in many respects.
Patricia's experience adjusting to the college game is something Smith could glean from. If anything, a conversation with Patricia about how easy it is to game plan against college teams as opposed to NFL teams should be a confidence booster for Smith.
Fall camp is providing a lot of updates to like. We'll see very soon if this is all just smoke and mirrors or if the Buckeyes are ready to handle a gauntlet of a 2026 schedule.
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