Ohio State landed the top quarterback recruit in the 2024 class in Julian Sayin, who is transferring from Alabama following the retirement of Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban.

The Buckeyes have lost to rival Michigan in three consecutive seasons, and the Wolverines capped off their undefeated 2023 season with a national championship. Now Ohio State is looking to regain its advantage in the Big Ten through the transfer market.

Sayin enrolled early at Alabama but is now headed to Columbus to join head coach Ryan Day and Ohio State. The Buckeyes are also returning a wave of draft-eligible juniors, including Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, and Donovan Jackson, among others. And they have landed top transfers in Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, Alabama offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin, and Alabama safety Caleb Downs.

BENDER: What do the Ohio State additions of O’Brien, Ross Bjork and Downs mean for Ryan Day?

Sayin, who will be a true freshman in 2024, is joining a loaded quarterback room. Here’s why he landed at Ohio State.

Why Julian Sayin is transferring to Ohio State
Sayin is hardly the first player to leave Alabama in the aftermath of Saban’s retirement. Downs, McLaughlin, Kadyn Proctor, and Isaiah Bond, among others, decided to leave the program before former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer takes over.

During Sayin’s recruitment, Saban spoke glowingly of the top quarterback in the 2024 class, per 247Sports Composite Rankings. But Ohio State was also pursuing Sayin and reportedly came up just short of landing the Carlsbad, Calif., product. With Saban out of the picture, Sayin wants the chance to work with coach Ryan Day, who has developed three quarterbacks (Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, and C.J. Stroud) into first-round NFL draft picks.

“Incredibly excited to join the team here at Ohio State,” Sayin told ESPN. “I held this program in high regard throughout my entire recruiting process and am looking forward to learning from some of the most talented players and coaches in college football and contributing to our team’s success.”

There was another connection beyond Day that helped Sayin decide on Ohio State. The Buckeyes hired Bill O’Brien as the team’s offensive coordinator on Friday. O’Brien was Alabama’s offensive coordinator when Sayin was initially recruited to the Crimson Tide in 2022 before he left to coach the Patriots’ offense in the NFL in 2023.

Though the Buckeyes have failed to get past Michigan in each of the last three seasons, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Ohio State has been in the College Football Playoff three times with Day as head coach and once reached the national championship game. The Buckeyes have at no point been ranked outside the AP Top 10 with Day as head coach and no lower than seventh in the CFP rankings.

And the future remains bright in Columbus. Ohio State had the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation in 2024, highlighted by No. 1 overall 247Sports Composite Rankings recruit wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. It has also landed the top running back in the transfer portal in Judkins and the top overall player in Downs, the latter of which still has two years left in college before he is draft eligible. With Sayin now going to Columbus, the future only looks brighter.

Ohio State quarterback depth chart
Will Howard
Devin Brown
Lincoln Kienholz
Julian Sayin/Air Noland
Last year, Kyle McCord topped Ohio State’s quarterback depth chart. But he left after a disappointing season and transferred to Syracuse. Redshirt freshman Devin Brown had a chance to cement himself as the starter in 2024 but sustained an injury in the first quarter of the Cotton Bowl and looked shaky when healthy. True freshman Lincoln Kienholz filled in for Brown in the game and looked inconsistent in the outing.

With Howard transferring to Ohio State, the assumption is that he will be the starter in 2024. He is a redshirt senior and posted impressive seasons at Kansas State before leaving the Wildcats. He has only the 2024 season remaining of collegiate eligibility.

Sayin is going to Columbus all but assured to be one of the backups, with his eyes set on being the starter in 2025. Winning the job won’t be easy, though. He’ll be competing with fellow 2024 recruit Air Noland, who is ranked No. 36 nationally by 247Sports Composite Rankings and No. 4 among quarterbacks. Noland has been locked in to Columbus for a while, despite some decommitment rumors that began to circulate in the summer of 2023.

Sayin has plenty of hype surrounding him, and his decision to transfer to Ohio State likely means he feels confident he can win the starting job in 2025.

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