What Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian Said About Julian Sayin Being Named Starter

The Ohio State Buckeyes will face the Texas Longhorns in Week 1, and we know who will be captaining each team's attack.

For the Longhorns, it had been obvious all offseason who would march onto the field first on August 30, and that is Arch Manning, who is being hyped up to be one of the best prospects in the modern college football era. This will be his first time as the starting quarterback for the Longhorns, although he should have some not-so-fond memories against the Buckeyes from their College Football Playoff loss last season.

For the Buckeyes, there's been a healthy bit of unknown, although it always appeared Julian Sayin was going to be their guy. It was a battle between Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz, who was named an 'Iron Buckeye.' Sayin has officially won the job, and Longhorns' head coach had some interesting words for fans after hearing about the news.

"Ton of respect for Julian. We recruited him hard here. He was a very gifted passer, really good player. Came to camp with us, I think, two years in a row. We got a lot of familiarity with him. Obviously a California kid, his high school coach and whatnot. Very good player. Elite passer. Very good arm talent. Very quick release. Really accurate guy. Obviously he's got great weapons around him. He's the type of guy that can utilize those weapons in a good system. So it poses a heck of a challenge," Sarkisian said.

#Texas HC Steve Sarkisian speaking on Ohio State naming Julian Sayin their starting QB.

Says Texas wanted Sayin out of HS and he camped with the Longhorns two years in a row. @ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/in0Vj8autz
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 18, 2025

Sarkisian is one of the most respected coaches in the game, so it is quite the praise to hear that he targeted Sayin and wanted him in Austin. Nonetheless, the Buckeyes now have thier guy, and Sayin should be a star for Ohio State.

Who is Julian Sayin?

Sayin originally was an Alabama commit, and then the legendary head coach Nick Saban retired. He opted to head to Ohio State instead, and while in a quarterback competition last season, he ultimately lost out to Kansas State transfer Will Howard, who helped captain the Buckeyes to a national championship.

Sayin was the No. 3-ranked quarterback prospect in the Class of 2024. He was only bheind Florida's DJ Lagway and Nebraska's Dylan Raiola. Sayin has yet to really prove much given he was behind Howard last season. He threw for 84 yards and a touchdown, going 5-of-12 as a passer.

He has clearly earned the trust of Ryan Day and respect of Sarkisian though.