Julian Sayin led Ohio State to a 12-0 regular season in 2025. This year the goal is to match the playoff run he watched from the sideline in 2024. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Ohio State believes strongly in its offense. The biggest reason is Julian Saying will be in his second year as the starting quarterback. And head coach Ryan Day likes the look in his leader’s eye.
Chicago, IL – Julian Sayin’s boyish look, his smile, his easy demeanor didn’t change in the Windy City on Wednesday. He looks and talks like a confident quarterback.
But a year after successive losses ended the season, what will Sayin look and sound like under the helmet, the mouthpiece in place, with the chinstrap snapped?
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“Year two as a starter he has a different look in his eye,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said during his 15 minutes on the big stage at Big Ten Media Days in the Hilton’s International Ballroom.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes the OHSAA and Ohio State sports for Press Pros Magazine.com. Follow on X @jw_gilbert
That look, invisible to the untrained eye in a high-dollar hotel overlooking Lake Michigan, is the look Ohio State needs to make reparations for eight months ago when the Buckeyes endured a “Blue December.” Their 12-0 regular season felt like a Christmas present you want to exchange for something better after Indiana and Miami ruined the holidays.
To have a December and January to remember, the quarterback must be the guy who wants it the most, leads the best, converts third downs, creates touchdowns in the red zone, etc., etc.
Day talks about the importance of the quarterback without reservation. He used the “look in his eye” phrase twice when discussing Sayin. He used that phrase several times about the 2024 national championship team. An hour later at a smaller podium, fielding questions for 45 minutes from Ohio State’s media throng, Day described what that look means in year two as the starting quarterback.
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“You know that if you win, you’re going to have an opportunity to get awards, to have an opportunity to get drafted, and all those things, and you kind of push all that stuff to the side,” Day said. “I can see that same look in Julian’s eye. All you’re worried about is winning, and that’s what he’s going to be focused on.”
That’s not to say Sayin didn’t focus on winning last year when. As a redshirt freshman, he had too many other things competeing for his attention like learning the position, getting used to the big-time atmosphere and being a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Now Sayin is a veteran.
“He’s found his voice even more, and he’s got a great look in his eye. I think he’s poised for a great season.” – Ryan Day on quarterback Julian Sayin
His focus will be less obstructed. Fewer challenges will be new, and last season’s experiences will help him handle new challenges. When a quarterback with Sayin’s ability can focus like Day is seeing, the offense can’t help but be more ready for December.
Yes, the much tougher schedule will help. Jeremiah Smith, Bo Jackson and an experienced offensive line will help. New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, with his NFL pedigree, will help. But offenses go as the quarterback takes them, and while Sayin played well, he was still a freshman.
No predictions on how far the Buckeyes go, but if Day’s impressions of Sayin in July are real, get ready for an offense that won’t be held entirely accountable if this team falls short of a second national championship in three years.
Will Howard came to Ohio State with lots of college football behind him with one goal: win. And he did when it mattered most. Howard never got too high or too low. The Michigan loss made him angry, but he channeled it into the playoff run. Sayin’s anger over those losses are channeled into this season.
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No way does Sayin want to go to Texas in September and experience a third loss in four games. No way does he want a Big Ten schedule of Indiana, Orgeon, USC, Iowa and Michigan to dent his record as a starter. And if a loss or two happens, Day isn’t worried about how Sayin will react.
“You’ve experienced ups and downs, you’re not going to ride the emotional roller coaster that maybe you would as a young player,” Day said. “When you look in his eye now, you see a different person, you see a different body. He’s worked hard. He’s gotten stronger. He’s found his voice even more, and he’s got a great look in his eye. I think he’s poised for a great season.”
Quarterback Julian Sayin has the trust of head coach Ryan Day to be the leader the Buckeyes need to overcome the shortcomings of last Decemeber.
What does Sayin’ think of this “look in his eye” talk?
“Just the the intensity and the commitment this offseason and in the weight room and in the strength of conditioning program,” he said.
The weight room, under the authority of strength coach Mickey Marotti, is where the Buckeyes discover and develop leaders. In the midst of barbells, grunts and sweat, Marotti tests mettle. And he puts quarterbacks in position to develop that “look in the eye” Day so covets.
Day counts Marotti as just as much a part of the team of developing quarterbacks as himself. They talk about the cruicible of the weight room exposing and washing away impurities. What happens in that room is why wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the most revered Buckeye by his teammates, said Wednesday that Sayin is the toughest player on the team.
Marotti’s aim is not just strength. It’s the aformenetioned leadership training and toughness building. For instance, if it’s ab workout time, the quarterbacks lead. Marotti makes them stand in front of the group and tell them they will do 50 sit-ups. Then the quarterbacks lead the workout. No hand claps allowed to signal when to start, when to stop or to keep time.
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“He makes the quarterbacks scream out the commands,” Day said. “And when you first get there, if you’re not somebody that’s ever barked in your life, you got to learn how to carry your voice. The first time they do it doesn’t look very good. And he makes them do it again, and he makes them do it again, and he makes them do it again. And over time, they get callous to it. Julian’s taking strides in that area for sure. And how do you know? Because his teammates talk about them that way.”
These are the things unseen on game day. The accuracy is obvious. But there’s more we don’t see, according to Day, reasons Sayin became the backup to Howard as a true freshman, won the job last year and excelled.
“What you don’t see, what I see, is his intelligence level. He can handle high levels of information.” – Ryan Day on Julian Sayin
“What you don’t see, what I see, is his intelligence level,” Day said. “He can handle high levels of information.”
Sayin is playing under his third offensive coordinator. Arthur Smith’s NFL experience includes coaching Aaron Rodgers last year with the Steelers. Day said Sayin is keeping up with the new concepts, terminology and overall philosophy Smith is bringing to the offense.
“I don’t think I’ve had to work extra hard to keep up,” Sayin said. “Coach Smith does a good job of explaining it in a way that’s very understanding to me, and so it’s been very fun to learn from him. I don’t feel like I’ve been overwhelmed.”
While the offense is more than the quarterback, the level of confidence and positivity surrounding Sayin is what the Buckeyes are banking on to get them through a much more difficult schedule than last year and to prepare them for the playoffs.
If the focus, the look in the eye, is all about winning, Sayin’s goal is clear: prove he can win when it matters most.
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