Julian Sayin led the entire country in accuracy, made the Heisman finalist cut as the only underclassman -- and still went home empty, beaten on the one stage that mattered. He's back for the part he didn't finish.
6′1″ · 214 lb · Carlsbad, CA
CFB Index
A single number blending on-field production (an EPA-based value lane) with box-score output for this player's position.
0-100, scaled within each position's own cohort — not directly comparable across positions.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026
4 TD · 1 INT · 10.5 per attempt
2 games into 2026 so far -- Best game: 320 pass yds, 3 TD, -9 rush yds, vs Ball State
Swing playSwung Ohio State from 35% to 61% to win.Ohio State at Washington · 24-6
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Julian Sayin led the entire country in accuracy, made the Heisman finalist cut as the only underclassman -- and still went home empty, beaten on the one stage that mattered. He's back for the part he didn't finish.
Aura™ · Him Watch
-9aura tax
98th pctl our passing-value metric (wEPA) QBs · 160 qualified, n=290
— the discourse is fair.Buzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
Ohio State Buckeyes energize fans with the reveal of five bold new football jerseys, setting the stage for a high-intensity offseason. Could this sartorial shakeup spark breakout performances from stars like Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin…
Also worth knowing:
“Julian Sayin stepping up as a vocal leader for the Buckeyes in his second year as starting quarterback”
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
QB1 Julian Sayin (All B1G, B1G Frosh of Year, All American, National Frosh of Year, National Champion)
Based on 1 comment across 1 thread · Aug 1, 2026 · via Buckeye Football
Sayin's first act was a quiet kind of stardom. The former Alabama signee who left when Nick Saban retired found his home at Ohio State, and in his first year starting he completed 77% of his passes -- the best in the nation -- for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns. He was the only underclassman invited to New York as a Heisman finalist.
What he didn't get was the trophy or the title. Indiana beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship and Fernando Mendoza ran off with the Heisman; the door Sayin had pried open swung shut on the biggest stage. That's the engine of his 2026: fans don't just want him better, they want it finished.
He's built to deliver -- 14 career starts now, the nation's best receiver in Jeremiah Smith, and a roster that opens the year as a national-title favorite. The forward question isn't whether Sayin is good; the nation-leading numbers settled that. It's whether the quiet accuracy becomes a closer's resume -- and whether the next time the season comes down to one game, the result flips.
His career
He arrived as a blue-chip recruit and played like one.
Sayin's 2025 wasn't just good, it was statistically absurd: he finished in the 99th percentile nationally in completion percentage, in expected points per dropback, and in success rate -- the three numbers that matter most, all at the ceiling. The game looks easy because he plays it fast and clean; he was sacked on barely 1.5% of his dropbacks, top-five in the country at getting the ball out. He isn't a gunslinger pushing it deep -- his average throw was middle-of-the-pack in air yards -- he's a precision machine who takes exactly what the defense gives and never gives it back. The honest questions trail every efficient passer in a loaded offense: at 6-1 he doesn't tower, and with Jeremiah Smith outside, skeptics ask how much is him. In Ohio State's attack he's the conductor -- and 2026 is the year he answers the doubt the only way a quarterback can, by carrying a title himself.
Written by our staff.
The role got bigger.
Career arc
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 2ND TEAM
All-Big Ten 2nd team (2025)
FRESHMAN HONORS
Freshman recognition (2025)
4 mention(s)
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Ryan Day.
Season context · Team result + system
3 seasons under Ryan Day — 27-5 over that span.
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score percentiles
Elite: yards / att (92nd percentile). Concern: pass yards (23rd percentile).
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score rates.
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
9.9515 of 75 QBsSack rate
6.6%56 of 75 QBsSacked on 6.6% of dropbacks (56 of 75) — and still 15 of 75 in Adjusted ANY/A.
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 66.7% completion on 57 attempts · 45% completion on 11 deep attempts (20+ air yds).
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 2 games: 299 YDS/g, 2.0 TD/g, 10.8 YPA, 0.5 INT/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
our read the All-Conference honor is earned — and the box score backs it up emphatically: #5 of 146 FBS quarterbacks by CFB Index Score.2025 profile
Recognition
Production · CFB Index Score
Former five-star. Now #5 at the position.
2026 outlook
Heisman market3.4%full market ›
In the mix to repeat All-Big Ten
Based on 2025: #3 of 19 Big Ten QBs
49% estimated, 95% confidence interval 43–54%. Base rate measured from players who finished at a comparable rank in their conference and came back the next season. It is an estimate from a small sample, not a forecast of this player.
One of 52 players who were elite at two different things in 2025. See the others ›
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ohio State | 38 | 57 | 66.7% | 598 | 10.5 | 4 | 1 | 174.4 | 74 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 301 | 391 | 77.0% | 3,610 | 9.2 | 32 | 8 | 177.5 | 93 | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 5 | 12 | 41.7% | 84 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 128.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 344 | 460 | 74.8% | 4,292 | 9.3 | 37 | 9 | 175.8 | 90 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Ohio State | 7 | -16 | -2.3 | 1 | -- |
| 2025 | Ohio State | 42 | -44 | -1.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 2 | 24 | 12.0 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 51 | -36 | -0.7 | 1 | -- |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 1 · 2026
W 56–3
vs Ball State
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 2 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-3vs Ball State | 21/25 | 320 | 3 | 0 | 12.8 | — | Season-high 320 yds |
| Wk 2 | L 23-24@ Texas | 17/32 | 278 | 1 | 1 | 8.7 | 88.3 | |
| Total | 38/57 | 598 | 4 | 1 | 10.8 | 88.3 |
Play style
Sayin's 2025 wasn't just good, it was statistically absurd: he finished in the 99th percentile nationally in completion percentage, in expected points per dropback, and in success rate -- the three numbers that matter most, all at the ceiling. The game looks easy because he plays it fast and clean; he was sacked on barely 1.5% of his dropbacks, top-five in the country at getting the ball out. He isn't a gunslinger pushing it deep -- his average throw was middle-of-the-pack in air yards -- he's a precision machine who takes exactly what the defense gives and never gives it back. The honest questions trail every efficient passer in a loaded offense: at 6-1 he doesn't tower, and with Jeremiah Smith outside, skeptics ask how much is him. In Ohio State's attack he's the conductor -- and 2026 is the year he answers the doubt the only way a quarterback can, by carrying a title himself.
Our classifier reads him the same way: operates within the system without forcing anything.
2026 Outlook
Ohio State
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Quarterback · Ohio State
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
Ohio State · Last season: 12-2 (AP #3) · Talent rank #5 · 2026 recruiting class #4
Player DNA
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to C.J. Stroud’s 2021 season.
Matches C.J. on
Differs from C.J. on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Bo Nix’s path through Oregon.
Matches Bo on
Differs from Bo on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Aidan O'Connell's sophomore season at Purdue (2021).
Byron Young
Differs from Aidan on
Heisman futures · sportsbook market
#8 in market ▼ from #3 · 5 books
Heisman Trajectory · 2026
Peaked at #2 — top-tier Heisman contention all season.
Career Highs 36 Completions at Wisconsin (Oct. 18, 2025) 42 Attempts at Wisconsin (Oct. 18, 2025) 393 Passing Yards at Wisconsin (Oct. 18, 2025) 94.7 Completion Percentage vs. Grambling (Sept. 6, 2025) 4 Passing Touchdowns (Three times – last vs. Penn State on Nov. 1, 2025) 87 Long Completion vs....