Nobody had a worse switch-up than Ohio State’s freshman QB Julian Sayin last season. After being loved for almost the entire season, fans decided to throw haymakers at Sayin for his bland performance against Miami, even more so than in the Indiana Hoosiers game. It felt like something was lacking in him. Well, according to Ohio State’s head honcho Ryan Day, it’s experience, and he promised it’s only going to get better for the sophomore QB.

There’s not too many guys his age that, you know, in one year of playing, I’ve made it to New York City,” Ryan Day backed Sayin on Jim Rome’s show. “And so for me, when you look at that position, a lot of the guys have been been older guys, guys that either transferred from the school where they were that at or had played multiple years. And so for his first year as a start, he did a lot of great things. This is exciting for us. I think this is only just a few times in my career that I’ve had a quarterback come back to play for two years in a row, so he’ll have that experience to draw back on, which is great year older in the system.”

Even though the 24–14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the Cotton Bowl was disappointing, Sayin just “lacked experience” in the biggest moments. There’s only so much a freshman could do. Walking into a playoff game against Miami’s defense with one year of starting under your belt is a massive ask, if anything. He backed his guy, saying most elite QBs need dozens of games to handle a defense that aggressive, and the good news is Sayin is just getting started.

The lacked experience comment was Day’s way of saying the kid is still human. Sayin got hit with 5 sacks because Miami’s ferocious edge rushers were basically living in the backfield. And as a freshman with 13 starts, he sometimes held the ball a split second too long trying to make a hero play.

Day even defended that brutal 72-yard pick-six, calling it the right aggressive decision that just met an elite defensive play. Sayin still put up 287 passing yards while being under siege the entire night. Then again, it wasn’t like the offensive line was doing any favors. Truth be told, when you look at as whole season in hindsight, he did wonders. Sayin was out there leading the nation with a 77% completion rate while over 3600 yards and 32 touchdowns. Ryan Day doubled down:

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

“I think this is only just a few times in my career that I’ve had a quarterback come back to play for two years in a row, so he’ll have that experience to draw back on, which which is great year older in the system.”

When you play on a team like Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s almost rare you come back for Year 2 because of the next-man-up lineup. The majority of Buckeyes play one season and head to the NFL or elsewhere. The only QBs who have played two seasons under Day are Justin Fields (2019, 2020) and C. J. Stroud (2021, 2022). And the rest of the gunslingers under Ryan Day, like Dwayne Haskins, Kyle McCord, and Will Howard, played just about one season. All the two-year starters made the playoff semifinals under Day. You can bet your house on Ohio State next season.

More importantly, Sayin is the only returning Heisman finalist for the 2026 season. He finished 4th in the voting this year, but with the winner (Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza) and other finalists moving on or being outshined, Sayin is officially the frontrunner to take the trophy home next year. The “experience” he gained from that Miami loss is being viewed by the coaching staff as the final piece of the puzzle. Plus, he’s got a secret weapon that no program in Power-Four has.

Julian Sayin’s secret weapon next season

One of the big reasons everybody’s so confident is that Sayin got college football’s finest athlete, Jeremiah Smith, lining up for him. Even in that loss to Miami, Smith was a mossing Miami DB room with 157 yards and a touchdown. He called it a season with 1,243 yards and 12 scores while missing a couple of games here and there. Plus, he’s got OC Arthur Smith to run the offense now.

Some fans believe 2024 was a sophomore slump for Jeremiah. They are expecting Jeremiah Smith to have the best season of his career in his arguably final year of college. The Buckeyes nation are viewing that Cotton Bowl loss as the secret sauce that will motivate this duo to be even more clinical next year.

For the 2026 season, the plan is for Sayin to focus on “seeing the field” better and using his underrated mobility to escape when the pocket collapses. something he struggled with against Miami’s rush. If he can add a scrambling element to that record-breaking accuracy, 2026 is going to be a scary year for the rest of the Big Ten.