The biggest blessing Ohio State has had over the past decade has been its quarterback play, maybe even more so than its wideouts. Even after underperforming and struggling against the Indiana Hoosiers and Miami Hurricanes, some folks are concerned about Julian Sayin’s lack of ability to make plays with his legs. Amid all that, Ohio State head honcho Ryan Day gave Sayin the highest words of approval any quarterback would die to hear.

“We feel like we have the best quarterback coming back in college football next year,” Ryan Day made his stance clear on Julian Sayin during The Ryan Day Show.

It’s pretty rare to hear Ryan Day go this hard with the praise so early. While he’s always been a big fan of his past stars like Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, he usually sticks to safer comments about their “work ethic” or “potential” during the offseason. In fact, just last August, he refused to name a starter for weeks, calling the race “neck and neck.”

By flat-out labeling Julian Sayin the best returning QB in the country, Day is making an aggressive but valid statement he hasn’t really made before.

Sayin’s 2025 stars definitely earned his coach’s trust after a wild 2025 season. As a redshirt freshman, he was a Heisman finalist and set a huge national record by completing 77% of his passes. Sayin’s 177.5 passer rating from 2025 is the highest of any quarterback returning to college football this year.

He racked up 3,610 passing yards (10th in FBS) and 32 touchdowns. Day mentioned that it’s rare to see an underclassman make it to the Heisman ceremony in New York. He expects Sayin to snatch the award this time.

“One of the youngest guys to get to New York City, I think, in a while,” Ryan Day made his arguement. “Most of the guys who’ve been going there are older guys. So we’re all excited about this year for him and taking the next step, even as a leader and all the different things. But obviously, a great first year for him.”

Top Stories

Patrick Mahomes’ Dad Faces 10-Year Prison Sentence After Chiefs QB’s Father Reportedly Violated Probation Terms

Prayers Pour In From Jordan Love & Co. as Cowboys Star Mourns Tragic Personal Loss

Justin Jefferson Makes Final Decision on Joining Buffalo Bills After Further Damaging J.J. McCarthy Relationship

Matthew Stafford Makes Final Decision on Retirement After Narrowly Beating Drake Maye For NFL MVP

Multiple PGA Tour Pros Stopped from Playing as WM Phoenix Open Round Is Canceled Over Recurring Problem

PGA Tour Split Into Two as Scottie Scheffler Confirms Stance on Patrick Reed’s Return

Julian Sayin was going toe-to-toe with Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza until the very last game. If it wasn’t for that Indiana Hoosiers Big 10 game, Sayin undoubtedly would’ve won the Heisman last season. He also had a pretty bad day at the Cotton Bowl against Miami. He got sacked five times in that contest and threw a combined three picks.

But Day thinks those “disappointing” moments are just fuel for Sayin to “dive into this thing” and come back even stronger for a second year as the starter.

“This is somebody who hasn’t played a lot of football. It’s his first year playing, and he competes,” Ryan Day said.

He works on it in the meeting room. What he does in terms of his preparation, what we put on his plate and getting us in and out of plays, protection checks, this guy here has got a very, very bright future ahead of him. I think Julian has a chance to be as good as he wants to be.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, things are going to get a lot more interesting. Sayin still has his superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith. Carnell Tate and Max Klare to the NFL. Plus, the schedule is looking brutal with road trips to Texas and USC, along with a rematch against Indiana. It’s going to be a true test to see if he can handle the pressure without his veteran safety nets.

Right now, Sayin is one of the top names on the 2026 Heisman Trophy shortlist. His odds are sitting around +900. He isn’t the only superstar in the mix, though. He’ll be battling it out with Texas phenom Arch Manning (+650) and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr (+700).

However, according to the insiders, there’s one QB with 7600+yrds who could give Julian Sayin a run for his money and might even actually win it.

College football analyst names former G-5 QB to name the most prestigious QB award

Recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong is putting his chips on former G-5 gunslinger, Byrum Brown as a top Heisman Trophy contender next season.

“I’m not going to sit here and say he’s going to have 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing this year in the SEC,” Steve Wiltfong said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning show. “But if he does, you can put another Heisman inside that football facility. I do think that they [Auburn] have one of the best quarterbacks in the country this year.”

He even put him over the likes of top portal QBs like Brenden Sorsby and Sam Leavitt. The reason why most analysts Steve and others are so excited is that Brown put up video-game numbers at USF. Over the last 4 years, he threw over 7690 yards and 61 TDs, despite not playing two seasons as a starter. And in 2025, he became one of only 12 players in college football history to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He even threw 28 TDs and ran into the end-zone 14 times.

He’s in the company of Heisman winners and runners like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, and Johnny Football. Safe to say, Wiltfong wasn’t just throwing words for the sake of it. Wiltfong basically said that if Brown can pull off those kinds of stats again in the SEC, Auburn might as well start making room in their trophy case for another Heisman.