Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin may now have higher expectations than Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning following OSU's 14-7 win over the downed horns this past Saturday.
On3's Ari Wasserman raised the expectations for Sayin through the roof with one of the bolder post-Week 1 proclamations any talking head has shared:
Sayin is the "next great Buckeyes quarterback."
"We came into the Ohio State-Texas game amped for Arch Manning-mania, and because he didn’t live up to the hype in his first game, that was the prevailing storyline from the Buckeyes’ 14-7 win. Lost in the Manning tornado was how Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin performed. Though his numbers — 126 passing yards and a touchdown — won’t jump off the page, it was a highly-impressive first start. Can you think of a single mistake Sayin made in that game? Missing that receiver Jeremiah Smith was open downfield at the beginning of the game? Even on that play, he made an accurate and catchable throw past the marker to tight end Max Klare that was dropped. He showed incredible poise, a big arm and didn’t have any turnovers. This seems like the beginning of the career of the next great Buckeyes quarterback," Wasserman wrote.
Sayin did well against a big and physical Longhorns defense that profiles as one of the toughest Ohio State will play all season besides Penn State. He didn't turn the ball over and didn't force throws that weren't there.
While he was more of a game manager than a game-breaker, most importantly, Sayin was a winner. At this stage of the game, Buckeyes head football coach Ryan Day isn't looking for anything more than that.
Of course, Sayin's counting stats will have to be raised to achieve "next great Buckeyes quarterback" status.
Luckily, he has the means to achieve that. Ohio State's receiving corps is so deadly that there are second-stringers who'd be WR1s on other teams. Establishing the run will be tougher than the last several years, but if Sayin is set to reach that potential, he'll find a way to find his weapons regardless.