As a freshman, it's hard to ask for much more than what Julian Sayin gave the Ohio State football team. He was a Heisman Trophy Finalist in his first year leading the Buckeyes, and led them to a 12-0 regular season. It was an impressive way to introduce himself to the fan base.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to a Big Ten title or a national championship. Those goals eluded him, but now he has a full offseason to get better as an entrenched starter. He will have some major talent around him, as well.
Sayin still has a couple of things that he needs to work on if he is going to have a shot at taking a big leap in his sophomore campaign. One of them has to do with his reads downfield, while the other has to do with his ability to scramble with the ball on critical downs.
The two biggest improvements Ohio State QB Julian Sayin must make
The biggest thing Sayin must work on is staying with his deep reads longer. There were too many times in the final two games of the season that he got off his deep routes too early. As soon as he looked away, receivers would spring wide open. He missed out on a couple of touchdowns that way.
Improving his scrambling might help with that. Sayin rarely tried to get first downs with his legs, even when he had a massive chunk of open grass in front of him. He needs to be unafraid to take those yards, especially when it means extending drives.
If Sayin is able to improve on those two things in his second season, the Ohio State Buckeyes should have an excellent shot at making the College Football Playoff again, even in the face of a brutal schedule. Sayin has already set the bar high for where his floor is as a player.
Having the best receiver in college football should help a lot, too.