As a freshman, Julian Sayin had one of the best seasons in Ohio State football history. He was a Heisman Finalist and led the Buckeyes to an undefeated regular season. That's a pretty good start to a career. Still, Sayin did lose the last two games that he has played.
Sayin was not at his best against Indiana or Miami. In fact, he could only lead the Ohio State Buckeyes to score just 24 points combined. A big reason for that was that the offensive line didn't block very well for him, but he also refused to use his legs to pick up some critical yards.
Ryan Day wants Sayin to change that. Picking up some extra yards, especially on third down, would be critical for the Buckeyes. He isn't the fastest quarterback in the country, but he is still quick enough to pick up some first downs if he can. Day made that clear on Tuesday.
Ryan Day wants Julian Sayin to run more often
Day knows how critical it is that Sayin scrambles more often. He let everyone know that Sayin is trying to change that.
"That's the X-factor. It's something that he knows. In some of the games, he did this year. I think going into this season, there's going to be opportunities for him to do that. That can be a big point of the game. There's two ways to do that. One, when it breaks down, escaping the pocket, keeping your eyes downfield. Or, then escaping and getting a few yards. In the rivalry game, he had a big scramble down the sideline for a first down. That was huge. More of that, the better."
Sayin is getting the green light from his head coach to take off and run with the ball more when the situation calls for it. He needs to be able to take the yardage that the defense is giving him. He has to make sure that he is doing everything he can to extend drives.
This spring is the perfect time for Sayin to work on that. When the Fall rolls around, he will likely have a much better technique for taking off with the ball and running for first downs.