Ohio State has a present Julian Sayin problem after the quarterback was knocked out of the Indiana game with a throwing shoulder injury in Week 7. OSU may also have a future Sayin problem.
It's unclear when Sayin will be back in the fold, or, quite frankly, if he'll be back in the fold ever again. We know he won't be back for a while, at best.
If being a high first-round NFL draft pick is still an option for Sayin this coming April, the Buckeyes don't seem to have a long-term Plan B in the quarterback room right now. It was supposed to be Tavien St. Clair, but Luke Fahey ripped the QB2 job from him. Is Fahey ready for this opportunity to save the program this season, though? What about beyond that? Is he championship material?
If neither Fahey nor St. Clair can put Ohio State in a position to win in 2027, and Ryan Day knows that heading into the transfer portal window in January, here are some proven veteran options he can pursue.
Oregon State's Braden Atkinson
Everyone will have their eyes on Oregon State quarterback Braden Atkinson's movements in the transfer portal. After transferring from Mercer, Atkinson has 2,604 total passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns so far this season. That leads the FBS.
Thus far, Atkinson has struggled a bit against man coverage, even with freshman phenom Jesse Legree, who is accounting for 1,040 of those yards and 14 of those touchdowns. That wouldn't necessarily be alleviated with the talented receiving corps the Buckeyes have. Ohio State is a few portal losses and de-commitments away from no longer having the "WRU" talent of the Brian Hartline era.
Still, Atkinson has such a big arm and has dominated so thoroughly with the talent around him in Corvallis that Day and Arthur Smith would have to do their due diligence. If Smith could work with Sayin to improve his mobility and willingness to use his legs, perhaps he could help Atkinson become more of a playmaker besides slinging it downfield.
Texas' Arch Manning
This would be a much more exciting option, fit-wise, with Smith's play-calling. Of course, the price tag for Arch Manning may be enormous after he took a discount for the 2026 season in Austin, and if Texas continues to lose, perhaps the Longhorns would cut bait with Steve Sarkisian and do everything to keep Manning for the 2027 season.
If Manning becomes available, though, Columbus is an intriguing fit. Manning has said he prefers big cities to smaller college towns, after all.
Would Manning be worth the gamble, though? It feels like a sacrilegious thought for Arch to leave the SEC blueprint, and the Buckeyes will lose plenty of the veteran offensive linemen currently powering protection.
Minnesota's Drake Lindsey
This may be the sweet spot.
Drake Lindsey has a great frame at six-foot-five and isn't getting the same hype as Atkinson's play or Manning's last name. He'll probably come at a cheaper price point and has plenty of reps in the Big Ten at this point. Added bonus: he's beaten TTUN.
Lindsey's an efficient passer, completing 64.8% of his passes through the first half of the season. If the NFL doesn't come calling, the Buckeyes should. If he starts mitigating his mistakes more, he'd be the prototypical fit in Smith's offense.
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