Ohio State QB Julian Sayin given favorable intel to replace Will Howard this season

Zain Bando

Ohio State QB Julian Sayin given favorable intel to replace Will Howard this season image

Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Just like their arch-rival Michigan Wolverines, the Ohio State Buckeyes still have yet to name their starter this season.

Although this is still the case, 247Sports' latest quarterback rankings make the decision abundantly clear: it's Julian Sayin's job to lose.

Brad Crawford released his top-50 rankings Monday, placing Sayin at a respectable No. 16 despite having much work to do to become a household name.

"It would not be a surprise if Julian Sayin winds up being one of the Big Ten's top two quarterbacks this season for the Buckeyes if he can hold off Luke Kienholz during fall camp," Crawford wrote.

Sayin has much hype around him and has gotten the attention of his coach, Ryan Day, for his adaptability in his system.

 "I felt like Lincoln settled down after the first drive or so," Day said after the spring game, via Eleven Warriors. "But I thought Julian was, overall, in a nice rhythm from the start. ... We'll use this as another evaluation tool. ... I'm glad we did this. I'm glad we did the spring game."

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Day said that although Sayin has much to work on, he's off to a good start.

"There [were] good days, there [were] bad days," Day said. "I think it's just a matter of playing the game. ... You can see the growth. ... I know we just need to play football with these guys ... I will say there was growth today."

Crawford justified his belief in Sayin, adding that he nearly got a chance to play for former Alabama coach Nick Saban. Although things didn't work out, Sayin not being ready for the big stage is the furthest thing from plausible, he wrote.

"There's not a quarterback in the country with a more talented wideout group and from all accounts inside the program, the former five-star recruit and Alabama signee under Nick Saban is ready for a breakout campaign as a redshirt freshman," Crawford wrote.

There is still an ample amount of time for the Buckeyes to make a decision, but from Sayin's standpoint, the arrow appears to be pointing up.

Zain Bando

Zain Bando is a freelance writer for The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism. Over the years, Bando has written about various beats surrounding Illinois, Northwestern, and Kansas State Athletics but sticks to the Big Ten as his primary expertise. Outside of collegiate reporting, Bando covers MMA and boxing for MMA Knockout On Sports Illustrated and hosts/co-hosts two podcasts as part of the Empty The Bench Podcast Network – Bando's Breakdowns and The MMA Outsiders, which air weekly on YouTube and are distributed on all podcast platforms Wednesday nights and Friday afternoons. Bando is a Chicago Suburban native and a member of the FWAA and USBWA, continuing to hone his professional skills as a sports journalist and media personality. Since June 2019, Bando's byline has been featured in numerous media outlets, including MSN, Yardbarker, Deadspin, FanSided, BJPenn.com, Bridge Media Network (Sports News Highlights), Mike Farrell Sports, Reuters, and more. When Bando is not writing, he binges on old UFC fights, spends time with family and friends, memorizes every Super Bowl, and manifests all the places he still has to travel to (even while bringing his laptop).