Julian Sayin and Ty Simpson: The fascinating what-if behind two Heisman contenders

COLUMBUS, Ohio – What ifs are part of what makes college football so entertaining.

So here goes: What if things had gone differently at Alabama for the two quarterbacks who are neck-and-neck at the top of the Heisman Trophy race?

Once teammates for a few brief weeks at Alabama, Julian Sayin and Ty Simpson are now the hottest quarterbacks in the country, leading two of the hottest teams.

While Simpson was enjoying a week off during Alabama’s open date, Sayin was busy dissecting Penn State for 316 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 38-14 romp Saturday at Ohio Stadium. He finished 20-of-23 and is completing 80.7 percent of his passes for the season. And mind you, it’s November. The Buckeyes are 8-0 and ranked No. 1 nationally.

Not even in 7-on-7 offseason workouts do quarterbacks complete better than 80 percent of their passes.

Sayin, a first-year starter, has almost made it look easy, and he gets more comfortable each week. He’s thrown 23 touchdown passes and only three interceptions – and he’s also evolving. One of his most impressive plays Saturday was a 9-yard scramble on a third-and-5 play in the second quarter, keeping a drive alive and leading to Sayin’s 45-yard touchdown pass to Carnell Tate. It was only a 10-7 game at that point.

“That’s something that’s very hard to teach, when you can feel the rush and not have your eyes on it and your eyes can be down the field,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “You can anticipate what’s happening and the ball comes out. I’d like to tell you that we coach that, but we don’t. He has that feel, and that’s something that makes a quarterback special.”

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who got the timeline mixed up, jokingly took a shot at himself earlier Saturday on ESPN’s GameDay when he called himself a “dumbass” for playing Sayin on the scout team after he initially signed with Alabama out of high school. Sayin, who graduated early from high school, practiced with Alabama for a few weeks leading up to the Rose Bowl in 2023. He was on campus for December practices and also practiced at the bowl site, although he wasn’t eligible to play.

Saban and then-offensive coordinator Tommy Rees were both impressed with what they saw during that short time, as one coach on that staff told On3 on Saturday, “Physically, he had some growing to do, but mentally, quarterback instincts and accuracy, he always had it.

“He also had an unflappable personality.”

That quarterback room was already loaded with Jalen Milroe, set to come back for another season in 2024, Dylan Lonergan (now the starter at Boston College), Simpson and Sayin.

Of course, everything changed when Saban shocked even his coaches and players by retiring on Jan. 10, 2024, and Kalen DeBoer was hired as Alabama’s coach two days later. Sayin remained on campus for about a week after DeBoer’s hiring and was still working out in the football complex, but with Saban gone, the writing was on the wall that Sayin might be moving on.

He came to Alabama expressly to play for Saban, and Ryan Grubb also initially came to Alabama with DeBoer to be the Tide’s offensive coordinator. Grubb was on campus for a month before returning to the West Coast to take a job with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks in February 2024. Quarterback Austin Mack also followed DeBoer and Grubb from Washington, and multiple sources told On3 that the Alabama coaches were honest with Sayin, telling him the quarterback room was full and that they would understand if he looked elsewhere. Sayin entered the transfer portal soon after classes started at Alabama.

“It was going to be take-your-pick of quarterbacks, guys already there and guys on their way, and I think that was clear to Julian,” said one former Alabama staffer.

But here’s the fascinating part: What if Saban had not retired?

Sayin might still be at Alabama, and there’s a chance Simpson might be playing elsewhere. Simpson certainly hasn’t been one to run away from a challenge. This is his fourth year on campus, and he didn’t start a game until the season opener this season against Florida State.

But spring practice and preseason practice in 2024 would have been something to see, not to mention the spring this season had both Simpson and Sayin remained in Tuscaloosa.

Between them, Sayin and Simpson have thrown 43 touchdown passes and just four interceptions this season. Sayin, who was Will Howard’s backup a year ago, has passed for 300-plus yards in five games this season, and Simpson has passed for 250-plus yards in six of his eight games.

One NFL scout told On3 on Saturday that both Sayin and Simpson had outplayed all of the quarterbacks atop the draft boards when the season began.

“And with Sayin especially, there’s a lot more out there,” the scout said. “He’s just getting started.”

Day, earlier this week, raved to On3 about Sayin’s maturity, both on and off the field, and as the glare only gets brighter for the 6-1, 208-pound sophomore, the pressure is sure to mount.

One of the reasons Sayin chose Ohio State was the quarterback lineage that has been built here under Day, so Sayin knew what he was signing up for.

“When you see guys like Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud throwing to guys like Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave when I was growing up and watching, it definitely influenced me because of the quarterback development here with Coach Day and then the receivers that we have here,” said Sayin, who was a consensus five-star prospect from Carlsbad, California. “They want to make plays whenever the ball’s in the air.”

Day isn’t one to stump for individual awards, but when asked about where his quarterback ranks among the best in the country, it’s difficult for Day not to make a case that Sayin is right there at the top.

“I think there are some really good quarterbacks across the country this year. There’s a lot of good quarterbacks in the conference, and so it will be told when the season’s over,” Day said. “I think it’s easy to be in Week 8, Week 9 or Week 10 and try to make proclamations on where guys are. I think we have to see what the season holds for us and the progress that’s made, and then we go from there. I think even when you look at the Heisman Trophy, it’s (voted on) after the season’s over, and there’s still a whole bunch of football that we play afterward.

“That’s unique, but that’s the tradition. But I do think that if Julian continues to play the way that he’s playing, he deserves to be in the conversation at the very least.”

Ohio State hasn’t had a Heisman Trophy winner since Troy Smith in 2006, and perhaps the best thing Sayin has going for him is two of the best receivers in the country on one team – Jeremiah Smith and Tate.

Smith, who caught six passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns, said there’s no debate when it comes to college football’s best receiving combo.

“We’re the best in the country. Nobody’s better than us,” said Smith, whose second touchdown came on a tipped pass at the goal line. “We’re the best receiving corps in the country. We’ve all got talent.”

Sayin connected down the field Saturday multiple times with both Smith and Tate for big gains. Each had 57-yard catches, and that doesn’t count Tate’s 45-yard touchdown.

Smith said Sayin was as good a deep-ball thrower as he’s been around, and Sayin countered that he’s throwing to the two best receivers in the country. Smith and Tate combined for 247 receiving yards against Penn State.

“Those guys are the two best in the country and they show it every Saturday,” Sayin said. “I see the practices on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when they go make plays against the best defense in the country. It shows up within our week and then it shows up on Saturdays.”

Penn State interim coach Terry Smith is a believer.

“They are the two best (receivers) in the country, watching these guys live,” Smith said. “I don’t mean this disrespectfully to the past Ohio State receivers. These two are better than all of them, and those guys were all good.”

The what ifs are bound to continue as this season plays out, especially if Sayin and Simpson – former teammates, at least loosely – continue on their Heisman paths.

The most competing what if of all, though, would be if Alabama and Ohio State find their way into the national championship game on Jan. 19 in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium.

Given the way this season has gone, would anybody be surprised?