Ohio State QB Julian Sayin named finalist for Heisman Trophy

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Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin was announced as one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 8.

Sayin will join Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia at a ceremony in New York on Dec. 13.

In his first year starting behind center, Sayin led the Buckeyes through an unbeaten regular season and was one of the most accurate passers in the nation.

A redshirt freshman from Southern California, Sayin has thrown for 3,329 yards and 31 touchdowns with a completion percentage of 78.4% that puts him on pace to break the single-season Football Bowl Subdivision record set by former Oregon quarterback Bo Nix in 2023.

A month ago, Ohio State began a formal campaign promoting Sayin, as well as star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, for the sport’s most prestigious individual award.

But Sayin’s candidacy hit a wall in the Big Ten championship game last weekend as he came up short in the head-to-head with Mendoza, who threw the go-ahead touchdown for the Hoosiers in the third quarter of their 13-10 win in Indianapolis.  

Mendoza has been a slight frontrunner for the award as one of the central figures in Indiana’s dream season. The Hoosiers, the top seed in the College Football Playoff, are 13-0 for the first time in their history.

The conference title game might have clinched the Heisman for Mendoza if not for Pavia, who led Vanderbilt to its first-ever 10-win season and could make for a closer rice.

The Buckeyes have seen four of their last six starting quarterbacks be named a finalist for the Heisman.

Sayin is the first since C.J. Stroud finished third in the final voting in 2022. Stroud was also a finalist in 2021 when he was fourth, following Justin Fields in 2019 and the late Dwayne Haskins in 2018. Fields and Haskins were also third.

Former wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and defensive end Chase Young were also finalists in 2023 and 2019, resulting in seven finalists in eight years for Ohio State.

It’s been nearly two decades since one of the Buckeyes lifted the trophy, as quarterback Troy Smith did in 2006.

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 QB Julian Sayin named Heisman Trophy finalist

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