Julian Sayin is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

. He is a former five-star recruit who began his career as an early enrollee for the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

before transferring to Ohio State.

Early life

Sayin grew up in

Solana Beach, California Solana Beach (''Solana'', Spanish language, Spanish for "sunny side") is a beach city in San Diego County, California, on the South Coast (California), South Coast. Its population was at 12,940 at the 2020 U.S. census, up from 12,867 at the 2010 ...

and attended Carlsbad High School in

Carlsbad Carlsbad may refer to: Geographical locations * Carlsbad, California, San Diego County, United States ** Carlsbad Santa Fe Depot, NRHP ID No. 93001016 * Carlsbad, New Mexico, United States ** Carlsbad Caverns National Park ** Carlsbad Irriga ...

. Sayin sat behind his brother,

Aidan Aidan, Aiden and Ayden are anglicised versions of the Irish male given name ''Aodhán''. The Irish language female equivalent is ''Aodhnait''. Etymology and spelling The name is derived from the name ''Aodhán'', which is a pet form of '' Aod ...

, his freshman season. He became the Lancers' starting quarterback entering his sophomore year and finished the season with 2,769 passing yards with 34 touchdowns and five interceptions. Sayin passed for 2,708 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior. On June 27, 2022, Sayin was announced as one of the quarterbacks to play in the 2024 Polynesian Bowl. He participated in the finals of the 2023

Elite 11 Elite 11 is a quarterback competition for high school quarterbacks. Elite 11 was founded in 1999 by Andy Bark and is run by his company Student Sports. Rising seniors participate in the contest. The quarterbacks submit videos of themselves pla ...

quarterback competition and was named the tournament's MVP. Sayin also participated in the QB retreat competition in 2023 with Steve Clarkson. Sayin was named captain of the football team before the 2023 season. In his final season, he had 2,369 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and one interception, adding four additional rushing touchdowns. Sayin was rated a five-star recruit and the second-best quarterback prospect in the 2024 class. He received his first scholarship offer when he was in 8th grade from

Kenny Dillingham Kenny Dillingham (born April 28, 1990) is an American football coach who is currently the head football coach at Arizona State University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon, Florida State University, Au ...

, then the offensive coordinator at

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

. Sayin committed to play college football at

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

during his junior season after considering offers from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. He had other notable offers from Notre Dame,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

High school statistics

College career

Alabama

Sayin began practicing as an early enrollee with

during the 2023 season in preparation for the

2024 Rose Bowl The 2024 Rose Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2024 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2024, at the Rose Bowl (stadium), Ro ...

. On January 19, 2024, Sayin entered the transfer portal following the retirement of

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

Ohio State

On January 21, 2024, Sayin announced he was transferring to

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. On January 31, he signed a

name, image, and likeness In college athletics in the United States, a student-athlete who participates in a varsity sport on any and all levels is eligible to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Historically, the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...

(NIL) deal with Panini America, a trading card company owned by

Panini Group Panini is an Italian company that produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards and other items through its collectibles and publishing subsidiaries. It is headquartered in Modena and named after the Panini brothers who founded it in ...

. On February 14, Sayin signed another NIL deal this time with an Ohio State-driven collective known as The Foundation. Sayin threw his first collegiate touchdown coming into relief against

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

on September 7, 2024. Sayin came into relief a couple more times throughout the season, and was part of the

2025 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The eleventh College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined ...

team.

College statistics

Personal life

Sayin's older brother,

, is currently the starting quarterback at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. His older sister, Bailey, played soccer at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

References

External links

Alabama Crimson Tide bio
(archived)
Ohio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sayin, Julian Living people American football quarterbacks Year of birth missing (living people) Players of American football from Carlsbad, California Alabama Crimson Tide football players Ohio State Buckeyes football players