Josh Pate’s latest Big Ten quarterback rankings put Ohio State’s Julian Sayin at the top of the league heading into the 2026 college football season.
That’s a notable call in a conference loaded with different kinds of passers. Oregon’s Dante Moore has the kind of upside that could put him in the same conversation as former Indiana starter Fernando Mendoza, who was followed by the league’s second No. 1 overall NFL draft pick in as many years. Elsewhere, younger names like Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington are trying to build on encouraging freshman seasons in 2025, while transfers Rocco Becht and Josh Hoover bring plenty of starting experience to new homes.
Pate’s top spot goes to Sayin, and the case starts with how sharp he was last season. No FBS quarterback was more efficient than him in 2025.
Sayin completed 77% of his throws, which topped Nebraska and Miami starters Dylan Raiola and Carson Beck by 4.6 percentage points. He stayed above 70% in all but three games, including two against ranked opponents in Texas and Miami.
His numbers helped drive Ohio State to a 12-0 regular season and pushed him into the Heisman Trophy race by the end of the year. And unlike every other 2025 Heisman finalist, Sayin is back in college football.
Still, the conversation around him is not spotless. Some fans and media remain unconvinced that his game will translate at the highest level, and part of that comes from the talent around him.
Sayin has the rare advantage of throwing to Jeremiah Smith, a receiver many view as a once-in-a-generation talent. That helps in the moment, but it also raises questions about what comes next.
The source of that concern is simple: quarterbacks do not always carry the same shine once they leave an ideal situation. Mac Jones is the example cited here. Three years after winning a national championship in an offense with a Heisman Trophy wide receiver, Jones lost his starting NFL job because he could not fit into a new environment.
There’s also the question of how Sayin handles pressure when the game tightens up. Ohio State spent most of last season rolling through what was described as a fairly weak conference schedule, holding the No. 1 ranking from the second week of the season until the Big Ten Championship game.
But the Miami loss stood out. Sayin’s pick-six put the Buckeyes in a two-touchdown deficit in the second quarter, and they could not come back when they had a chance to seize the lead early in the fourth.
In Other News...
Michigan Suddenly Has An Unexpected Ernest Hausmann Roster Watch
Ernest Hausmanns path has suddenly become one of the more intriguing roster questions around Michigan football. The former starting linebacker left the program during the 2025 season because of mental health issues, then showed up at Michigans pro day as he tried to move toward the NFL draft, a sequence that seemed to point him firmly toward the next level.
Now an eligibility ruling has opened a door that did not appear to be there before, and it has put Hausmann back on the radar in Ann Arbor. Because he came in with the 2022 class, there is at least a chance he could be in line for another season at Michigan if he chose to pursue it, but for now the situation is still mostly smoke and speculation, with no official word and no confirmed interest either way. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Has An Unexpected New Freak Fans Will Want To Talk About
Special teams usually live in the background, but Gavin Magorien has a way of making a specialist impossible to ignore. The sophomore long snapper transferred to Michigan from Marshall and landed at No. 78 on Bruce Feldmans annual Freaks list of the 101 most athletic players in college football, a nod that says as much about his physical profile as his role.
Magoriens numbers jump off the page for any position, much less one built around precision and timing. He posted a 10-foot-10 broad jump, 26 bench press reps at 225 pounds, a 550-pound squat and a 6.87-second three-cone drill, and his background helps explain the rare blend of explosiveness and agility since he played wide receiver and defensive back in high school before settling in as a long snapper. For Michigan, its the kind of unexpected development that gives a little extra intrigue to a unit fans usually only notice when something goes wrong. [Read more 🡒]
Roddy Gayle Jr Could Still Give Michigan A Huge Boost
Roddy Gayle Jr. still has a path back to college basketball, and that alone keeps his Michigan future worth watching. A preliminary injunction tied to the 2022 recruiting class opened the door to an extra year of eligibility, giving the former Wolverine a rare bit of flexibility at a time when the program has already gone through coaching changes and roster turnover.
Gayle has also taken a step toward the pro ranks, signing an Exhibit-10 deal with the Detroit Pistons, but the situation is not as closed off as it might first appear. Because that deal does not take effect unless he actually appears in an NBA game, Michigan could still be in play if he decides a return makes sense, and the Wolverines would have a real reason to welcome back an experienced guard. [Read more 🡒]