‘Resilient’ Julian Sayin Finishes Spring In Strong Fashion

This past Saturday’s Ohio State spring game was the public’s best look yet at why the hype for redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin is so high. With redshirt sophomore Lincoln Kienholz’s stellar play in the second half, those same fans also saw why head coach Ryan Day says the quarterback competition between the two is wide open.

Saturday was the best Sayin has looked in front of a crowd all spring long, completing 17-of-24 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown. Kienholz completed 12-of-18 passes for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Both quarterbacks were operating against a fairly basic Buckeye defense, but they did the routine things routinely, which is how Day wants his quarterbacks to operate.

Afterward, Ryan Day was asked why Julian Sayin was able to put it together on Saturday compared to the last few times the media attended practice and saw the young QB struggle.

“You know, I wish I could put my finger on it,” Day said. “There was good days, there was bad days, there was somewhere in between. And I think it’s just a matter of playing the game.”

Simply “playing the game” has been a major focus this spring for the Buckeyes. They did as much 11-on-11 as they could over the course of these 15 practices because the quarterbacks aren’t the only position group that has limited experience playing in actual games.

The amount of 11-on-11 has allowed players to grow, including the quarterbacks.

“We saw some growth even in the short amount of time that you guys were able to watch some of the practice this spring,” Day said. “We have the ability to watch them on a daily basis. And I wish I could say, ‘Hey, we need to get better at, like, one, two, and three,’ but I know we just need to play football with these guys. We’re young. We have a lot to work on. But I will say there was growth today.”

Whether it’s Ryan Day or quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler or offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, conversations with the quarterbacks happen on a daily basis. Recapping the day before, previewing the day ahead, answering questions, asking questions, and everything else that goes into getting an Ohio State quarterback to be ready to start for the Buckeyes.

It is not an easy ask, which is why so much time is spent on finding and developing the right guy.

“It’s our job and it’s my job to make sure that they understand how hard it is to be a quarterback at Ohio State and the expectations,” Day said. “You are not allowed to lose a game. You’re not allowed to have a bad day. And so it’s really, really hard. It’s just the way it is, but as we know, the rewards are endless.”

The entire spring was an up-and-down affair for the Buckeye quarterbacks, but you probably would have never known that if the spring game was your only opportunity to see Julian Sayin in action.

It was a good way to close out the 15 practices because it showed a key trait that all quarterbacks need to have.

“I think the thing for Julian is he’s realized he’s had some good days, he’s had some days he’s learning from,” Day said. “A big trait of great quarterbacks is they’re resilient. They keep coming back and they keep learning. If you keep making the same mistake over and over again, not good. I think all the guys have been that way this spring. But good to see him respond the way he did and rebound from a couple of practices early on.”

Go to discussion...