Texas head coach reacts to learning Julian Sayin will lead Ohio State vs. Longhorns

On Monday morning, Ryan Day made the official decision to name Julian Sayin as the starting quarterback of the Ohio State football team. He will be leading the Buckeyes all season long, starting with a game against the number-one team in the country.

Texas will come into Columbus with revenge on its mind after losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl. This will be the second straight game that the Longhorns will be playing against the Buckeyes, but the first one that Sayin will be playing in.

Sayin is a former five-star recruit, so Texas can't be surprised that he was named as the starter. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked about Sayin leading the Buckeyes in Week 1, and he had a heap of praise for him. In fact, you could tell that Sarkisian wanted him in Austin badly.

Steve Sarkisian heaps praise on Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin

Sarkisian was very complimentary of Sayin.

"Ton of respect for Julian. We recruited him hard. He's a very gifted passer, really good player. He came to camp with us, I think, I want to say two years in a row. So we've got a lot of familiarity with him. He's obviously a California kid...very good player. Elite passer, very good arm talent, very quick release, really accurate guy. Obviously, he's got great weapons around him, and so he's the type of guy who can utilize those weapons in a good system."

Sark knows just how much of a challenge it will be playing Sayin, especially in the Shoe. Ohio State will be celebrating its first game as defending national champions, so the environment is going to be a tough one for the Longhorns. Sayin is going to have a lot of help on the offensive end of the ball, too.

This will be Sayin's first start as a collegiate quarterback, so it likely won't be a smooth ride. He's got a first-time play-caller as his offensive coordinator, as well. The offense might look shaky right out of the gate, but they have too many talented players to be held down for long.

As long as Sayin is able to get the ball to Jeremiah Smith, he should be fine. That will be Sayin's ultimate goal every time he steps on the field. He has some high expectations, but he has a high level of talent to help him meet those expectations.