BREAKING: Ohio State Buckeyes Name Starting Quarterback As They Prepare For 2025 Season Opener

The waiting is over in Columbus. After months of speculation and a grueling quarterback competition that stretched from spring practice through fall camp, Ryan Day finally made the call that Buckeye Nation has been dying to hear.

Julian Sayin will be under center when the Ohio State Buckeyes take the field against top-ranked Texas on August 30th at the Horseshoe.

This decision carries weight that extends far beyond just naming a starter. For Day, who’s entering his seventh season as head coach, this choice represents a calculated gamble on a young quarterback who spent most of last season watching from the sidelines during the program’s championship run.

The Rise of Julian Sayin

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Sayin’s journey to this moment reads like something out of a sports novel. Originally committed to Alabama as one of the nation’s premier quarterback prospects, he flipped to Columbus as a Five Star Plus+ recruit – the No. 8 overall player and No. 2 quarterback in the 2024 class according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Last season, the talented freshman got his feet wet in four games, completing 5-of-12 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown while adding 24 rushing yards. Those numbers don’t tell the whole story, though. Behind Will Howard and Devin Brown on the depth chart, Sayin was learning, absorbing everything he could about Day’s system while the Ohio State Buckeyes captured their first national championship since 2014.

Now, with Howard in the NFL and Brown transferred to Cal, the keys to the kingdom belong to Sayin.

What Tipped the Scales

Day didn’t mince words when explaining his decision Monday morning. “You see there was a lot of growth made,” Day said. “Overall, Julian was more consistent.”

That consistency became the deciding factor in a competition that pitted Sayin against Lincoln Kienholz, another talented signal-caller who pushed him every step of the way. Day praised Sayin’s pocket presence and highlighted the significant strides he made throughout the preseason.

The announcement came after the Ohio State Buckeyes completed their second scrimmage of fall camp, with Day informing both quarterbacks of his decision Monday morning. Credit to Kienholz, who handled the news with class and professionalism that speaks to the culture Day has built in Columbus.

The Texas Test Looms Large

If you’re going to make your debut as a starting quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, you might as well do it on the biggest stage possible. The season opener against Texas isn’t just any game – it’s a collision between the third-ranked Buckeyes and the top-ranked Longhorns, featuring Arch Manning making his official debut as Texas’s starter.

The pressure? Immense. The opportunity? Even bigger.

Day knows what’s at stake. “We can’t be messing around,” he said back in July. “I know that we’ll need all of those guys in that room this year.”

That urgency reflects the reality of modern college football, where championship windows can open and close quickly. The Ohio State Buckeyes have the talent to make another title run, but it all starts with quarterback play.

Leadership Beyond Statistics

What makes Sayin’s selection particularly interesting is Day’s emphasis on leadership throughout this process. During Big Ten Media Days, the veteran coach stressed that he wanted to see which quarterback could handle competitive situations and step into a leadership role.

Sayin apparently checked those boxes. Players around the program have noticed his growth, and the wide receivers – often the best judges of quarterback talent – have given him their stamp of approval.

The Ohio State Buckeyes open their 2025 campaign with sky-high expectations and a new face under center. For Sayin, it’s the culmination of a journey that began in Alabama’s recruiting class but finds its true beginning in the scarlet and gray.

Come August 30th at noon ET, we’ll find out if Day made the right call. But for now, Buckeye Nation can rest easy knowing their quarterback question has been answered.