PFF grade shows just how good Ohio State QB Julian Sayin has been

Ohio State may have found the best gunslinger in all of college football, and Pro Football Focus has the stats to prove it.

This season, the redshirt freshman Julian Sayin has been lighting up college football. Ohio State is sitting at 6-0 and maintained the #1 spot in the polls since week two. Sayin’s been a major reason for it this season, running the offense.

PFF has given Sayin a grade of 91.4 so far this season, the highest among all quarterbacks at the FBS level. 

Sayin has been outstanding this season so far. He is completing passes at a 78.4% rate this season, the highest of any quarterback in college football. 

He has also thrown for 1,479 yards and 15 touchdowns so far, compared to just 3 interceptions.

In Sayin’s last game against the ranked Illinois Fighting Illini, he tossed 166 yards and two touchdowns on just over 70% completion. That was surprisingly one of Sayin’s least efficient games of the season, despite winning 34-16.

His best game of the season may have come just a week before in a 42-3 win over the Minnesota Gophers. There he was 23/27 throwing the ball for 326 yards and three touchdowns. He had the offense clicking at an extremely high rate, something he’s been able to do consistently this season.

With wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate on the outsides and one of the best offensive lines in football keeping him upright, it has been smooth sailing for Sayin this year.

He has only taken two sacks this entire season, once against Ohio and once against Washington. Meanwhile, Smith and Tate have combined for nearly 1,000 of Sayin’s passing yards this year, and 11 of the touchdowns. 

Sayin has had the benefit of taking over for an offense that was already arguably the best in the nation, just from the wide receiver core alone. It still wasn’t a guarantee things would work though.

Sayin’s done everything right though. He has proven he can win games on the road, win at home, win against the best and win against the “easy” teams. He has done a great job of letting his best players get out there and make plays, something Ohio State would get away from last year, especially in their loss against Michigan.

It’s clear the Buckeyes have found their quarterback over the next few seasons, and one day he’ll be playing on Sundays. While his teammate Smith will be the Heisman hopeful this year, don’t be surprised to see Sayin earn some votes in the near future.