The Ohio State football team has been trying to figure out who the starting quarterback is going to be for the 2025 season. With Will Howard now in Pittsburgh as a member of the Steelers, the battle in camp was between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz for the starting job.
Sayin came into Spring practice as the favorite to win the job because of his pedigree as a former five-star recruit. He also jumped Kienholz on the depth chart last year to be the backup. Kienholz is the more athletic of the two quarterbacks, but Sayin checks almost every other box ahead of Kienholz.
On Monday morning. Ryan Day officially named the starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes for the 2025 season. He named Julian Sayin as the starter, so now he will officially be leading the Buckeyes when Texas comes to town at the end of the month.
The Ohio State football team will be led by Julian Sayin as the starting quarterback
When asked why Sayin was the choice for the job, Day cited his consistency and the numbers he has put up over the last week. He said that Sayin had really separated himself from Kienholz, which is good to hear. With just a couple of weeks before the Longhorns come to Columbus, this is something that needed to be taken care of.
Throughout training camp, Sayin has been the quarterback who has showcased his arm strength and his accuracy at a higher level than Kienholz has. Day was just waiting for Sayin to show some consistency with his practices to go along with that talent. Now, he has.
Sayin knows that he doesn't have to be a hero out there. He just needs to get the ball out of his hands to Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, and Max Klare so they can make the plays. This is perhaps the most talented group of pass catchers that a new quarterback will be walking into.
The Buckeyes are one of the favorites to win the national championship this season after dominating the College Football Playoff last year. With Sayin leading the way, they feel very good about where they sit heading into next year. He's the guy everyone feels comfortable with.
Sayin has a tough first game as a starting quarterback. Texas is the toughest first opponent in the history of the Ohio State football program.