The Ohio State football team will have quite a few young players who will need to step up next season. They lose most of the guys who helped win the 2024 national championship, including 14 starters. That doesn't mean that they will be devoid of talented guys, though.
Jeremiah Smith is the best player on the team and he's just a sophomore. He will have one of the biggest impacts on the team by virtue of being the best playeron the roster. But he's not who's the subject of this article. There is a different player who will be more impactful.
It's the man who will likely be throwing the ball to Smith all season long. That would be Julian Sayin, who will be fighting for the starting quarterback job now that Will Howard is gone. Sayin is the favorite in the clubhouse to win the job, but will by no means be guaranteed the job.
Julian Sayin will be the most impactful sophomore on the Ohio State football team
Sayin will be the most impactful by virtue of being the guy who will touch the ball every play offensively. Quarterback is the most important position on the field, and Sayin will be the guy that everyone on the offense is looking at to lead them down the field.
It's not just the position that puts him in this category, though. His talent is why he will be so impactful. He is a former five-star recruit who has been sitting for a whole year, absorbing Ryan Day's offense. That makes him someone who is dangerous for other teams to stop.
Sayin doesn't have any tape out there to dissect. Other teams don't know what they are going to run into yet. They also don't know what Brian Hartline's offense is going to look like, either. Both of those things are an advantage for the Buckeyes next season.
Perhaps Ohio State has some other sophomores who will jump up and make big impacts besides these two guys. They're going to need them if they want to repeat as national champions.