$2.4 Million QB Predicted to Have 'Record Setting Career' With College Football Powerhouse

A quarterback is expected to have a 'career' with at Power Four college football program in the coming seasons.

Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin (10) throws during the third quarter against Miami during the 2025 Cotton Bowl | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

A little under six months lie between the first days of March and the opening weekend of the 2026 college football season.

Many of the key players from the 2025 college football season headed for new destinations at the beginning of the offseason. However, many will return to the programs they played for in 2025 to heighten their NFL draft stock in the coming seasons.

One player hoping to add another strong chapter in his body of work is Ohio State starting quarterback Julian Sayin. He enters his third season with the Buckeyes and second season as their starting quarterback.

The 6-foot-1, 208-pounder ranked as a five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle when he committed to Alabama. However, Nick Saban announced his retirement from coaching shortly after Sayin enrolled in classes at Alabama, a move that prompted Sayin to head for the NCAA transfer portal. Two days after his entry into the portal, Sayin committed to Ohio State.

Will Howard started for the Buckeyes during their run to the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2024, a move that allowed Sayin to maintain his redshirt and limited his appearances to four blowout victories.

In 2025, Sayin threw for 3,610 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions, a campaign highlighted by an FBS-high 77% completion rate.

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) smiles as he walks off the field against the Michigan Wolverines | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Big Ten recognized Sayin as its Freshman of the Year and as a member of the All-Big Ten Second Team in 2025. Nationally, Sayin received the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting. Sayin is the only 2025 Heisman Trophy finalist returning to college football in 2026.

Sayin enters the 2026 season with a plethora of returning weapons from a season ago, most notably wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Brad Shepard of Bleacher Report named Sayin the best sophomore quarterback in college football in a list he released Wednesday.

"The California native is known for his dead-eye accuracy and completed an astounding 77 percent of his passes in his first year starting for one of the top teams in college football," Shepard wrote.

"With Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, and others returning in '26, the Buckeyes should have an explosive passing game with Sayin under center again. He has a chance to have a record-setting career in Columbus before it's all said and done."

Despite Sayin's terrific first season as a starter, the Buckeyes finished 2025 on a disappointing note. After a regular season in which it finished undefeated and routinely sat at No. 1 in the polls, Ohio State dropped losses to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game and to Miami in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal that ended its season.

The Buckeyes face both Indiana and Oregon in 2026, the other two Big Ten representatives in the College Football Playoff from a season ago. Additionally, the Buckeyes play five more teams that finished 2025 with nine or more wins.