Nick Saban breaks down major trait that makes Julian Sayin pop

During Nick Saban’s final season as the head coach at Alabama, he signed Julian Sayin. One of the top prospects out of the 2024 cycle, the Five Star Plus+ quarterback was one of the key pieces of the Crimson Tide’s recruiting class.

Then, Saban retired, and Sayin entered the transfer portal. He ultimately committed to Ohio State and is now vying for the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback job with junior Lincoln Kienholz.

As the competition goes along, Saban pointed out a trait that makes Sayin pop. He pointed out the redshirt freshman’s arm talent, as well as how he sees the field.

Nick Saban chats with @StephOtey on hitting the links with @ryandaytime and recruiting Julian Sayin pic.twitter.com/KeAlf9G8EW

— 97.1 The Fan (@971thefan) May 28, 2025

“Julian’s a great young man,” Saban told 97.1 The Fan at the Workday Golden Bear Pro-Am ahead of The Memorial. “I think he’s getting bigger and stronger, but he’s got really good touch, really good accuracy, good judgment. He’s a really good young player.”

Sayin appeared in four games as a true freshman as Ohio State made a run to a national title in 2024. That was after he arrived on the college scene as a Five Star Plus+ prospect, meaning he was one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five-star. He was the No. 8 overall player and No. 2-ranked quarterback from the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Because Sayin signed with Alabama, he had to enter the transfer portal as a Short Term Signee. He then became the No. 3 overall player to hit the open market during the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

Ryan Day previously said the competition would likely be between Kienholz and Sayin even though highly rated recruit Tavien St. Clair is also in Columbus. As spring practice wrapped up, he said Sayin made an impression with his performance in the spring game.

“I felt like Lincoln, going into the spring game, was a little bit ahead of Julian,” Day said of Kienholz and Sayin in late April. “And then I thought, if you just watched the game, Julian probably performed a little bit better than Lincoln during the spring game. And here we are, you know. So we’ve gone back through, watched the spring practices. The grades are very similar.

“So we’ll take it into the summer, you know, and we’ll let them play. The more you play, the more these things find a way to work themselves out. So who knows. Who knows how it’s going to shake.”