Julian Sayin realizes dream with selection as Heisman Trophy finalist
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Julian Sayin's first memory of watching the Heisman Trophy ceremony remains vivid.
It was 11 years ago at his home in Carlsbad, California, when he saw Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota on the TV screen lifting the trophy.
As a 9-year-old, he admired Mariota, the star who led the Ducks in their ascendance as a college football powerhouse in the early 2010s.
“I was always watching them as a West Coast kid,” Sayin said. “They were big. It awesome to see an idol of mine win that award.”
In his debut season as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Sayin put himself in contention for the sport’s most prestigious award, prompting the flashbacks after he was named one of four finalists on Dec. 8.
“It’s really special to have my name in that conversation,” Sayin said.
Despite precision passing that puts him on pace for the most accurate season ever by an FBS quarterback, the odds are against the redshirt freshman with the 78.4% completion percentage winning the award.
Sayin was on the wrong end of a head-to-head with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the frontrunner who led the Hoosiers to a 13-10 win over the Buckeyes in the Big Ten championship game days before the ballots were due.
But the stakes of the race paled in comparison to the disappointment of the defeat, which ended their unbeaten season and shot at their first conference title since 2020.
“I was just sick to my stomach that we lost,” Sayin said, “and really wanted to win the conference for our university.”
It also remains a feat to finish at least fourth in the voting, bringing the invitation to attend the ceremony in New York on Dec. 13.
From a young age, he and his older brother, Aidan, who became a quarterback at Penn, dreamed about the possibility of being on the Manhattan stage.
“Growing up, I’d tell people, ‘Hey, I’m going to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony,’” Sayin said. “It’s pretty surreal to be going out there.”
His parents and siblings, which also include two sisters, will be with him this weekend for the festivities.
The buzz for Sayin as a candidate began building as the calendar turned to November, following a stretch in which he threw four touchdowns in consecutive wins over Penn State and Wisconsin.
The school launched a campaign for him and star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on Nov. 2.
“That was probably the first time I was thinking about it,” Sayin said.
Sayin joins the company of recent Ohio State quarterbacks to finish as a finalist in their first year as a starter, following C.J. Stroud in 2021, Justin Fields in 2019 and the late Dwayne Haskins Jr. in 2018.
Stroud, who also returned as a finalist in 2022, has been in touch with Sayin this year and reached out following the Buckeyes’ win at archrival Michigan last month. They first met when Stroud visited during spring practice.
“It’s very cool to hear from him,” Sayin said.
The trend overlaps with the arrival of Ryan Day, who first joined the Buckeyes as quarterbacks coach in 2017 before ultimately taking over the program two years later.
Day is more hands-off with the position group than in his early years, moving into more of a CEO-style approach as the sport has evolved, but he continues to hold significance with their development.
“Every day in practice, he’s getting on us,” Sayin said, “making sure the details are right. He’s involved.”
Sayin also pointed to Billy Fessler, a former walk-on quarterback at Penn State who was promoted to quarterbacks coach last offseason.
“A lot of my development can be credited to him,” Sayin said. “He’s done a really good job, and I’m very appreciative of having him.”
There’s a layoff of more than three weeks between the Big Ten championship and the Buckeyes’ quarterfinal in the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve.
The gap leaves Sayin and the rest of the Buckeyes with a bit of time to digest their first loss in 2025.
“It definitely lights a fire when you lose a game like,” Sayin said, “but we're excited about the next matchup. We'll get it right and back on track.”
Before the preparations ramp up, he’ll also have his chance to revel in a childhood dream.
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 QB Julian Sayin realizes dream as Heisman Trophy finalist
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