Julian Sayin, Ohio State trending amid Bill O'Brien bombshell exit

Only weeks after Ohio State hired Bill O'Brien to serve as offensive coordinator for the 2024 football season, it appears he's about to leave the program with insiders reporting that he's set to take the head coaching position at Boston College instead.

Ryan Day has a replacement for O'Brien locked up — that being Chip Kelly, the former UCLA head coach who will serve as offensive coordinator going forward — but Day may also have to keep an eye on one of his newest elite quarterback additions: five-star Julian Sayin, who transferred to OSU from Alabama after the retirement of Nick Saban.

Sayin — originally the No. 2 ranked quarterback recruit the No. 8 overall prospect when taking a consensus average from the major recruiting services — is thought by many insiders to have chosen Ohio State in part because O'Brien was on the staff.

Back when he was a recruit, Sayin originally committed to Alabama in part because of Saban, but also in part because O'Brien was then the Crimson Tide as offensive coordinator and lead recruiter for the quarterback, who wanted to play in the coach's system.

Then, when Saban retired and O'Brien landed at Ohio State, it appeared Sayin was drawn to the Buckeyes at least in part to reunite with O'Brien.

Sayin's decision to commit to Ohio State apparently even caught its head coach somewhat off guard, as Day admitted the quarterback's arrival "was not something we planned on," but when it became a possibility, was only too happy to sign him up.

After his arrival, it wasn't expected that Sayin would take the reins at Ohio State right away. Barring injury or some other disaster, it appears the starting job firmly belongs to veteran Will Howard, who transferred to the Buckeyes from Kansas State this offseason.

But after Howard departs for the NFL, that should leave Sayin and Air Noland — himself an elite five-star quarterback prospect — the favorites to compete for the QB1 position heading into the 2025 season.

There is some speculation from analysts that the departure of O'Brien could also result in the loss of Sayin, but Ohio State hopes that the addition of Kelly, a coach with previous college and NFL credentials, will help stabilize the offense and keep its new quarterback on campus.

For now, Sayin's profile on X still reads: "QB at Ohio State." We'll see if that's still the case going forward.

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks