Wolverine Digest

Michigan football's biggest rival names starting quarterback

Seth Berry|
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin completed 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the spring game.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin completed 17 of 24 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in the spring game. | Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan football's archrival has named its starting quarterback ahead of its season opener against Texas on Aug. 30. Sophomore Julian Sayin will get the nod under center for Ohio State, as head coach coach Ryan Day announced the decision to members of the media on Monday.

Day noted that Sayin won a close competition against junior Lincoln Kienholz but "separated himself , really, over the last couple of weeks with his consistent play." Sayin, a former five-star recruit and top prospect from California in the class of 2024, originally signed with Alabama before transferring to OSU following Nick Saban's retirement.

In 2024, Sayin appeared in four games for the Buckeyes, logging 27 snaps while completing 5-of-12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown. Kienholz, who Day said took the news well, will be Sayin's backup against Texas, while freshman Tavien St. Clair will be third on the depth chart in the OSU QB room.

Michigan travels to Columbus to play Ohio State on Nov. 29. The past three Buckeye quarterbacks have fallen short in the win column against the Wolverines. We'll see if Sayin can help OSU flip the script in the rivalry or if the Maize and Blue can capture their fifth win in a row in the series.

No matter the result, the 2025 version of The Game will both be featuring brand new starting quarterbacks for each program.

Sayin
Ohio State quarterbacks Julian Sayin (10) and Lincoln Kienholz (3) warm up prior to the 2024 season opener against the Akron Zips. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Seth Berry
SETH BERRY

Seth began writing on Michigan athletics in 2015 and has remained in the U-M media space ever since, which includes stops at Maize N Brew and Rivals before coming onto Michigan On SI in June of 2025. Seth has covered various angles of Michigan football and basketball, including recruiting, overall team coverage and feature/analysis stories relating to the Wolverines. His passion for Michigan sports and desire to tell stories led him to the sports journalism world. He is a 2020 graduate of Western Michigan University and is the former sports editor of the Western Herald, WMU's student newspaper.

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