Julian Sayin earns prestigious college football award before Cotton Bowl

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin’s accurate freshman season earned national recognition Tuesday.

After leading the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff, Sayin was named the 2025 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club. The award celebrates outstanding freshman campaigns dating back to 2018, with a list of notable college football greats, including one of Sayin’s teammates.

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin has been named the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year over Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney and three other candidates.https://t.co/hsN4KSslzQ pic.twitter.com/qYIS2g3Ee1
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 30, 2025

Sayin was awarded the honors after beating out Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, Alabama cornerback Dijon Lee Jr., Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr and North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker, the four other finalists for the award.

The Buckeyes’ quarterback has thrown for 3,323 yards, 31 touchdowns and six interceptions this season through 13 games. His freshman performance brought Ohio State to a 12-1 record, with their only loss coming to the Indiana Hoosiers 13-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Where Sayin separates himself from other quarterbacks is with his elite accuracy. Being ranked No. 1 in the nation in completion percentage, Sayin has completed 279 of 356 of his passes for a 78.4% completion percentage.

Sayin is the first Buckeye to win the award as an Ohio State player. Teammate Caleb Downs won the award in 2023 as a starter for the Alabama Crimson Tide before transferring to Ohio State the following season. Along with the Ohio State safety, Sayin joins two NFL quarterbacks, along with five total NFL draftees, as a recipient.

Former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence won the inaugural award in 2018 in a season where he led the Tigers to an undefeated record and eventually a national championship. Former UNC quarterback Drake Maye won the award four years later in 2022 by breaking multiple school records and earning an ACC Coastal Division title.

The other recipients of the award include former Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell in 2019, former Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr. in 2020, former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers in 2021 and most recently Texas linebacker Colin Simmons in 2024.

Shaun Alexander, who the award is named after, is a former Alabama running back who had a late, but memorable, freshman year with the Crimson Tide in 1996. During a November matchup between Alabama and LSU, the then third-string running back ran for a school record 291 yards and four touchdowns en route to a 26-0 victory. Alexander would finish his freshman season with 589 yards and six touchdowns.

After a productive four years with Alabama, Alexander was selected 19th overall in the 2000 NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks, playing nine seasons in the NFL.