Ohio State Buckeyes football's 2025 starter, Julian Sayin, thanked his predecessor, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and College Football Playoff National Championship-winning QB1 Will Howard, in a well-spoken statement over the weekend.
Sayin is grateful he got to witness Howard's great leadership in person during his rookie season.
“I think Will [Howard] was such a great leader to learn from,” Sayin said, per Eleven Warriors. “He was someone who was able to get the entire team around him — get the entire building to rally around him.”
Sayin was nothing but positive about the Buckeyes' spring, providing a best-case scenario update on his progression under center.
“I think I’ve grown in just understanding more about the game — watching tape, being able to match routes with my feet and my drop, and all those things,” Sayin said. “I think spring was a great time because we got so many reps. Just getting on the same page with the receivers and then just improving as an offense, as a unit.”
Sayin made a specific choice to play behind Howard, the Kansas State Wildcats' QB1 before becoming immortalized in Columbus, at OSU.
The Carlsbad, California native was committed to the Alabama Crimson Tide before flipping to Ryan Day and Co. following Nick Saban's retirement. Sayin and Caleb Downs were two of the departures that had many (possibly correctly) predicting the end of a dynasty in Tuscaloosa.
That choice paid dividends.
Of course, Howard set Sayin up for failure at the same time. He won a championship but didn't beat Michigan.
Now, there's a chance for double-pronged disappointment: not repeating and the losing streak to the Wolverines continuing.
We'll see if Sayin can be the leader OSU has clamoring for that can get the job done on both fronts. He's a former five-star recruit for a reason.