The Saiyan Saga in Dragon Ball Z shares parallels with the “Sayin” saga down in Columbus, OH. Both mark the beginning of new era, a new chapter after a successful one just ceased. Both have people confused, not knowing what their future entails. Learning things on the fly. But most notably, they both seem to go on forever! With the 1-year stopgap solution of Will Howard now out the door, a new dawn is imminent over Ohio State. Peep over the horizon, and three inexperienced QBs are standing there, waiting to ascend through the depth chart. Julian Sayin, Tavien St. Clai,r and the understated wildcard in Lincoln Kienholz. As the Buckeyes begin spring practice, an answer to this 3-way conundrum is now becoming clearer.
HC Ryan Day and new OC Brian Hartline are not in an envious position with this decision. Ohio State is going from a fully-vetted senior statesman in Will Howard to a call between a QB room with a grand total of 15 college completions between them. What’s working in their favor is the raw talent at their disposal. Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair are consensus 5-star recruits, top 3 in the nation for their respective classes. With Lincoln Kienholz no slouch himself as a 4-star and 13th-rated QB in the class of ‘23. On the surface level, 2024 recruit Sayin has the upper hand. But is that transpiring into him actually creating separation at the top from the chasing pack?
Sayin is perceived to have more to his game than Kienholz and has been in the program longer than St. Clair. Learning the ropes, building chemistry with the receivers and understanding how to deal with being the Buckeyes QB1. Being around Will Howard also means some of that veteran experience is bound to have permeated through via osmosis. Even with all of this baked into the equation, the battle is largely neck and neck. At least through spring, where each contender gets the chance to make a dent into the coaches’ minds. Now that Ryan Day and co. have begun spring practice, the scrutiny is at 11. Turns out, Julian Sayin has only gone and made his case stronger. This has led to On3’s J.D PicKell walking back on his initial stance that Tavien St. Clair will take Sayin right to the limits.
Speaking over the On3 YouTube channel, PicKell discussed what has to be the biggest predicament and loose end for Ohio State heading into fall. He relayed that post-practice #1, On3’s Ohio State wing “Letterman Row” took away that “You watch Julian Sayin drop back, and there’s something different to him,” PicKell’s own assessment of Sayin is in line with that. “The football jumps out of his hand, quick release, all those things. I truly believe that he will win the job,” he said. However, PicKell also explained, with rationale, why we may not have a definite answer till fall. “I also truly believe we won’t have any clarity on this until August,” he said, before elaborating.
“If he doesn’t win the job until August, that does not mean that Julian saying isn’t having a great spring practice. Doesn’t mean that he hasn’t done enough to win the job. It just means that’s how Ryan day operates.” said PicKell. He attributed this to the precedent coach Day has set in the past with his QBs. “If you go look at previous quarterback battles, even when it was Justin Fields or it was CJ Stroud– when you knew those were the guys for Ohio State- they weren’t named the starter until fall camp. I think it’s going to be the same case with this.”
If this is indeed true and Ryan Day doesn’t announce finality until he’s stood on the precipice of the season, that implies Tavien St. Clair and Lincoln Kienholz are still in with a shout. Which perhaps lends into why PicKell, mere days ago, had a very different perspective on this QB battle.
Julian Sayin wasn’t deemed the runaway leader before spring practice began
The term “true freshman” just doesn’t equate the same in the current make-up of CFB. The days of cagey high schoolers making the step-up are almost a thing of the past. No more cagey, only courageous. Athletes now are ready off the cuff. Ohio State’s own Jeremiah Smith is a testament to this. In fact, Jeremiah taking to college like a duck to water leads into Tavien St. Clair, making this a 3-way battle. It’s not like the other two alternatives are known, experienced quantities anyway.
Ohio State has commenced spring practice relatively late. Which makes sense, given how they went to the finish line last season and ended late. This delay actually gave more time for the QB battle involving Julian Sayin to marinate and the discourse to fester. Right at the precipice of the Buckeyes’ spring camp beginning, JD PicKell said “It’s going to be a battle…Tavien St. Clair is a stud true freshman who’s going to factor…It sounds like to some degree they’re going to give him his fair share of reps to be able to compete for that job.” Within days, PicKell now had enough confidence to explicitly say he “truly believes” Sayin will be QB1. You can’t lose ground within a single practice, but you sure can make a lot. Which Sayin seems to have done.
Apart from this dilemma weighing on him, Ryan Day has actually had some very positive revelations spawn out of Columbus this week. He’ll just hope to land on the correct guy to succeed Will Howard. There’s not much room for growing pains either, since Ohio State host Steve Sarkisian’s Texas opening week. That makes getting the choice correct straightaway all the more important. It’ll be fascinating to see whether it indeed is Julian Sayin lined up opposite Arch Manning at the Shoe.
The post National Analyst Forced to Backtrack on Julian Sayin as OSU Camp Triggers New Twist in Ryan Day’s Dilemma appeared first on EssentiallySports.
