Julian Sayin went through a roller coaster of emotions in the last three weeks of the 2025 season. From becoming a Heisman contender to getting exposed against Indiana and Miami, the first-year starter came under heavy scrutiny for his mistakes. Fresh off that experience, the Buckeyes’ QB1 is returning to prove the naysayers wrong. He is starting his redemption trajectory with some self-introspection and accountability. But most importantly, by taking charge.

In his media remarks after the second spring practice, Sayin talked about things he needs to improve in his game, like using his legs more. More importantly, he has “a lot of responsibility at the line of scrimmage.” Sayin is now increasingly telling his receivers their designated routes and where he wants them to go. Why? Because he has finally recognized that he is “the quarterback” and without his guidance, no offense could win those marquee games. But he isn’t doing it alone; he is also rallying Jeremiah Smith to lead the team’s offense.

Last year, Julian Sayin didn’t place a foot wrong in the first 11 games of the season. He pulled off those screamers like playing in his backyard. Moved fluidly in the pocket and notched an impressive 77 percent passing efficiency. Those 3,610 passing yards showed his prowess, and he ran scorch-earth on some elite defenses like Michigan and Penn State. But when Indiana’s flawless defense pressured him and sacked him 5 times, he faltered.

Sayin threw an interception and threw two more against natty finalists, Miami. Those performances screamed that Sayin still needed to develop scrambling ability and ought to improve his decision-making, as he gave a pick-six against Miami. Thereafter, Sayin’s short-yardage execution became a headache, and he squandered many fourth-down conversion attempts. The writing on the wall became clear in those two games: the Ohio State QB1 still had a lot of work to do.

“You definitely think about that, but I’m chasing to be the best version of myself,” Sayin said about his questionable plays from the 2025 season. “There are so many things I can improve on. It’s been a very fun offseason because there are so many things that we did well last year, but we can do so much better.”

In all, Sayin looks ready to revisit his mistakes, learn, and get back strong this year. To do that, he is building a strong relationship with his offensive linemen and leaning on experienced players to learn every nuance. Also, to make matters rather promising, Sayin also has a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith. His elite NFL experience will come in handy in the offseason as Sayin charts his way back to Heisman contention.

Julian Sayin opens up on learning under Arthur Smith

Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline called the plays in the regular season, and Sayin excelled under him. It was only when Hartline accepted the USF job and Ryan Day took over as playcaller that Sayin’s worst plays occurred. But now, Arthur Smith has come in. He was the Atlanta Falcons head coach for three years and became the Steelers OC thereafter in 2024. Can we expect Smith’s 12 personnel ground control attacks to elevate Sayin’s offensive rhythm?

“Obviously, a great offensive coordinator in the NFL and someone I can learn a lot from. … It’s been great. I love working with him,” said Sayin about Arthur Smith. “As a quarterback, you’re gonna have to learn new offenses and learn new verbiage and stuff like that, so it’s been great to see that new perspective.” Yet, Sayin dubbed Smith “not too different” than his previous OC and expects to fit in quickly in Smith’s schemes.

Despite that promise and Sayin’s optimism in Smith’s schemes, fans are skeptical about the new OC’s past performances. In the last 7 years, Smith’s scoring offense has managed to break the top 10 just two times and was top-five in the NFL just once. Another thing that may worry Sayin is Smith’s weak passing schemes.

The 43-year-old’s passing offenses (yards per game) haven’t breached the top-15 mark once, and his 2025 Steelers’ offense notched just 202.4  passing yards per game. Can Smith fit Sayin’s pass-heavy talent into his offense? Or Sayin will have to learn to use his legs a lot more? It remains to be seen.