Ohio State names Julian Sayin starting quarterback ahead of 2025 season

After a competition that began in the spring, it’s official. Julian Sayin will be Ohio State’s starting quarterback for the 2025 season beginning Week 1 vs. Texas, Ryan Day announced.

Sayin was up against Lincoln Kienholz for the starting job, but ultimately won out. He’s getting ready for his second season in Columbus after arriving last year as a true freshman, though he initially signed with Alabama as a highly rated recruit.

Sayin was a top target for Ohio State on the recruiting trail as one of the top quarterbacks in the cycle. A Five Star Plus+ prospect, he was the No. 8 overall player and No. 2-ranked quarterback from the 2024 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Sayin appeared in four games last season as Ohio State brought home a national championship. He completed 5-of-12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown while also totaling 24 rushing yards during that time. He sat behind Will Howard and Devin Brown on the depth chart, but will now get his chance with Howard now in the NFL and Brown now at Cal.

Speaking at Big Ten Media Days in July, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said training camp was going to be important as Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz vied for the starting quarterback job. He specifically wanted to see leadership, not to mention how the duo handles a competitive situation.

“Same, because it’s hard to make any progress unless you’re actually on the field playing football,” Day said of where the battle stands. “But I think both guys have gotten stronger. Will be interesting to see once we get done with our summer program with Mick [Marotti] next week … who’s Iron Buckeyes? That’ll be big for the leadership.

“But guys have taken leadership roles. They’ve been throwing with the wide receivers. I ask those guys all the time, and they like both of them. We’re going to put them in as many competitive situation as we possibly can to figure out who handles that the best because we’ve got to be on point Week 1. We can’t be messing around. I know that we’ll need all of those guys in that room this year.”

Ohio State is set to open the 2025 season on the big stage with a matchup against Texas at The Horseshoe. It will mark the official start of the Arch Manning era as he officially takes over as the Longhorns starter. That game will kick off Aug. 30 at Noon ET.