Ohio State QB Julian Sayin Gets Honest on Transfer Decision

Before Julian Sayin was a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, he was preparing for a collegiate career with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Remember: the quarterback initially committed to Alabama back in November 2022, but transferred to Ohio State in January 2024.

It's rare that players decide to leave Tuscaloosa (although safety Caleb Downs made the move, too), but recently, Sayin explained his decision to bolt the Crimson Tide to join the Buckeyes.

“I wanted to play for Coach (Nick) Saban, and when he retired, I decided to transfer. Ohio State was a big decision for me," Sayin told Zak Herbstreit of On 3. "I was excited to make it just because of the quarterback development history they’ve had with Coach [Ryan] Day. The guys like Justin Fields, C.J. Stroud coming before, they’ve done a great job with quarterbacks. And just the talent they have at the offensive skill positions. It was definitely a great decision for me, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The Buckeyes have definitely developed brilliant quarterback talent in recent years, so you can certainly understand Sayin's thought process.

Sayin himself is a former five-star recruit with dual-threat capabilities and is widely viewed as one of the most talented signal-callers in the country. However, he has thrown just 12 passes on the collegiate level thus far, so the jury is still out on the 19-year-old.

Sayin is competing with Lincoln Kienholz for the starting quarterback job in Columbus heading into 2025, and while he appears to have the edge in the battle, it definitely won't be an easy road for the redshirt freshman.

Ohio State opens the season against Texas on Aug. 30, so we will see if Sayin can gain some separation from Kienholz in the coming weeks.