Ohio State freshman quarterback Julian Sayin (10) throws the ball during the spring game at the ‘Shoe Saturday. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
There were plenty of questions heading into the spring game about who would take the reins as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2025.
Prior to Saturday’s scrimmage, head coach Ryan Day said Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin were “neck and neck.”
While Kienholz was the first to take snaps for the Buckeyes’ offense, Sayin ultimately stole the show.
“I thought Julian [Sayin], for the most part, early on, was in rhythm and moved the team down the field for a couple touchdowns,” Day said. [He] made some nice throws.” Day said.
The redshirt sophomore showed poise, leading the offense to three consecutive touchdowns on his first three drives. Sayin ended the day 17-of-24 with 175 yards and one touchdown — a 26-yard strike over the middle to tight end Max Klare.
The former five-star recruit — who was yet to find his groove in spring practice before Saturday — bounced back and flashed the potential that made him a top prospect.
“He’s had some good days, he’s had some days he’s learning from, a big trait of a great quarterback is they’re resilient,” Day said. “[It’s] good to see him respond the way he did and rebound from a couple of practices.”
Although Kienholz threw for one more touchdown than Sayin, the offense seemingly operated much smoother when Sayin was under center — he was calm in the pocket, stepping up when needed and consistently making accurate throws.
Despite only completing passes in two career games, the Sayin looked the part of a starting-level quarterback, excelling for the majority of the first half against the first and second-string defense.
While the spring game is not the end-all-be-all of the competition, the importance of seeing the two quarterbacks, who both lack meaningful in-game experience, playing under center in a live game setting was not lost for Day as spring evaluations loom.
“I felt like, for the most part, we got a chance to evaluate how the quarterbacks handled themselves in front of a crowd.” Day said. “Next week we have our post spring evaluations — and go through what they did well and what we need to improve on going into the summer.”
