Ohio State Football Notebook: ‘He’s always thinking about the next snap’

Julian Sayin Stayin’ Calm

With five scholarship quarterbacks on the Ohio State roster this year, there has been plenty to watch in fall camp for offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly.

In the midst of a quarterback battle between upperclassmen Will Howard and Devin Brown, there are also three quarterbacks with freshman eligibility. Redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz stepped in for Brown in last year’s Cotton Bowl, which was a learning experience to be sure.

True freshmen Julian Sayin and Air Noland both arrived in January and had their own separate experiences in the spring. Sayin became the first true freshman quarterback to ever lose his black stripe in the spring, which is a solid indicator of how well he has played since transferring to Ohio State from Alabama.

That doesn’t mean he’s been perfect, but he’s done a great job of handling everything that has been thrown at him.

“Jules just stays in the moment,” Kelly said recently. “That’s the one thing I like about him. If he throws a bad ball, it doesn’t bother him. If he throws a good ball, he doesn’t get over excited and say, ‘Hey, I just arrived.’ He’s always thinking about the next snap, and he’s done a really good job with it. Just not playing into anything. He’s just trying to stay present. And that’s what we’re trying to get with all these guys, is that they just stay present, just stay in the moment.”

The Buckeyes are now in the middle of fall camp. They are practicing six days a week in preparation for the season. But practice is not the only place Sayin is learning.

“Right now the next process is we’ve got to go in and watch the film and everything we just did on the field, we’ve now got to process again,” Kelly explained. “Was this a good decision? Was this a bad decision? Why did you make the decision? And then, ‘All right, we’re going to continue down this path,’ or ‘No, we’ve got to correct this.'”

Pulling The Trigger

Stepping in a nickel back last year as a junior, Jordan Hancock was one of the Buckeyes’ most consistent defenders. That fact is made even more impressive because it wasn’t something that he had done much of in his first two years at Ohio State.

Now a senior and with a full season of experience in such a vital role in this Ohio State defense, Hancock is at home.

“Yeah, for sure, this role, I’m super comfortable in it now,” Hancock said last week. “My first start there was week three. But now I got a whole spring camp and I’m really knowing the defense. It’s just everything that I imagined, just knowing the whole defense front and back.”

There is no replacement for experience, and Hancock’s experience last year means that he’ll be able to have an even more diversified role this year for the Buckeyes.

“Yeah, you can do more, I can play way more positions,” Hancock explained. “I’m just shooting my gun now. I’m just pulling my trigger for runs, passes, because I already know what’s happening and what the back end’s doing behind me.”

Hancock finished last year with 41 tackles, two sacks, and two interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown. This year he’s shooting for five interceptions.

“Time will tell how many production points I get this year, but it’s gonna look good,” he said.

Special Teams Secret Weapon?

The Buckeyes signed linebackers Payton Pierce and Garrett Stover in their 2024 recruiting class. Following Tuesday’s practice, Pierce lost his black stripe. Stover still has his black stripe, as do 16 of his fellow true freshman classmates.

The stripe will eventually come off, but its presence right now isn’t hindering assistant coach James Laurinaitis from formulating plans for his young linebacker.

“Garrett can run, I can tell you that,” Laurinaitis said. “Like, Garrett can run. I think sometimes you’ve got to get him to slow down. He can be a little spastic at times just with his feet, but he can run. If he’s not on our kickoff unit, then that’s a problem, because he can fly.”

Stover played both safety and linebacker in high school. The transition to full-time linebacker is one that has been made by many before him, but it’s always a process. Much like his cousin Cade Stover who is now playing tight end for the Houston Texans in the NFL, Garrett Stover has the mindset that coaches want to see.

“Garrett’s doing well,” Laurinaitis said. “There’s a learning curve there with him, but the thing I love about Garrett is he’s tough, man. You know the Stover boys are tough. But he’s learning as well. And him and Payton being roommates is a great thing, because those guys are trying to get in the playbook, and so I think Garrett’s going to have a role in some of our special teams.”

Go to discussion...