Julian Sayin managed well in his debut as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, helping lead the Buckeyes to a win over previously top-ranked Texas.
But he did not need to do too much. Sayin rarely launched passes deep downfield and most of the time handed the ball off to running backs.
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Between the caliber of opponent and unfavorable situations resulting from poor field position, the Buckeyes sought to avoid overburdening their prized redshirt freshman.
The circumstances are drastically different in Week 2 with a visit from Grambling State, an overmatched opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision, making it likely that the Buckeyes put more on Sayn’s plate.
“You don’t go from 0 to 60 overnight,” coach Ryan Day said, “but we want to build that up.”
It wasn’t that Sayin, who threw for 126 yards and one touchdown against the Longhorns, couldn’t push the ball downfield.
His scoring toss early in the fourth quarter was 40 yards, falling into the hands of Carnell Tate in the end zone.
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But he didn’t take many shots. Just four of Sayin’s 20 pass attempts (20%) traveled at least 10 yards through the air, according to data from Pro Football Focus.
Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin looks to pass over Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald.
It’s different than the last time Day turned to a redshirt freshman behind center.
When C.J. Stroud took over as Ohio State’s starting quarterback in 2021, he let it fly.
Stroud threw passes at least 10 yards downfield on nine of 24 attempts (37.5%) in his first start at Minnesota, per PFF, and it was an even higher rate the following week in a loss to Oregon. Of his 54 attempts against the Ducks, 31 of them (57.4%) went for 10 yards or more.
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Day acknowledged the Buckeyes wanted to be more explosive through the air against Texas, but situations prompted them to turn to other pages in the playbook.
Three of their five drives in the first half against Texas began inside their 10-yard line. They began another in the third quarter at their 1-yard line, the result of a goal-line stand.
“We found ourselves backed up,” Day said, “and the game went in a different direction.”
The spots on the field were especially thorny as the Buckeyes faced a defense that wreaked its share of havoc last year. The Longhorns’ 46 sacks in 2024 ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and they returned their star pass rusher in Colin Simmons.
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Once the Buckeyes took a 14-0 lead in the fourth quarter, the need to push it waned.
Now a much lighter stretch of the nonconference schedule is underway, giving Sayin room to grow.
“We’re going to continue to put things on his plate,” Day said, “push the envelope and go from there.”
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Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football to put more on plate of quarterback Julian Sayin