Julian Sayin is heading into 2026 with a title that says plenty about where Ohio State sees him: captain.
The Buckeyes named Sayin one of seven team captains before the season, and for a second-year quarterback at a program with this much attention attached to every snap, that matters. It tells you teammates and coaches believe the growth is real, not just talk. On The Script podcast, host Dave Holmes pointed to comments from teammate Bennett Christian, who has been high on Sayin’s progress as both a leader and a passer.
“His leadership’s taken another level,” Holmes said. “He said he’s making jaw-dropping throws in practice.”
That buzz is one thing. Turning it into a major jump when Ohio State opens the season is another.
Former Buckeyes running back Beanie Wells thinks the answer is yes. Asked whether fans can expect a Year 2 leap, Wells didn’t hesitate.
“Absolutely. One hundred percent,” Wells said when asked whether fans can bank on a Year 2 leap. “I believe that he’ll be so much better than he was last year.”
Wells said Sayin flashed the kind of ability that gets coaches excited early on, especially when he had time to settle in, read the field and work from the pocket.
“In the earlier part of the season, we saw Julian sit back there and dissect defenses, do some great things,” Wells said.
But the learning curve got steeper from there, and Wells said that’s part of the job for a young quarterback who is still dealing with faster pressure and tougher opponents. At times, he said Sayin looked “a little bit gun shy” in harder games, which Wells framed as a normal part of the process for a player still figuring out how to deal with rushers in the biggest moments.
“He really hasn’t been thrown in a fire in a situation to where you’re looking at the rush and you’re not feeling it,” Wells said. “Last year, he went through the fire.
He’s seen some great defenses. He’s going to be so much better.
He’s going to be so much more comfortable in our pocket.”
Wells also thinks the line in front of him will make a difference. He expects Ohio State’s offensive front to be one of the nation’s best, and he sees that group as a major help for Sayin.
“I think we’ll have one of the better offensive lines in the country, and that will most certainly help it,” Wells said.
Cardale Jones, another former Ohio State quarterback, sees the story a little differently. For him, Sayin’s next step is about continuity and comfort inside the system, not just athletic growth or highlight throws on the move.
“I think what we’ve seen this past offseason, the stories that have been coming out from the Woody Hayes facility, is exactly what I anticipated as far as being a Year 2 starter,” Jones said.
Jones pointed to Ryan Day’s track record with quarterbacks who stayed and developed in-house, naming Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud as examples. In his view, that history shows why the program values a quarterback growing inside its own structure instead of starting over with transfers every year.
“Ryan Day still values the development of the guys that’s in his program that he’s recruiting out of high school,” Jones said. “I think we’re starting to see early on with Julian and the reports that have been coming out about him why you want guys to develop under your program and your system to mold them to be everything they potentially can be.”
For now, Sayin’s captaincy is the clearest sign of trust. The real test comes when the games start and Ohio State finds out whether the leadership, the practice flashes and the growing confidence all show up when it counts.
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Ryan Day has described Bey as a dynamic player with significant potential, and that fits the path that brought him to Columbus in the first place. His recruitment went through a twisty stretch before he signed with Ohio State, including a flip from Tennessee after he was released from his original commitment, so the Buckeyes knew they were getting a player whose story was already a little different. Now the only real question is how quickly that promise turns into a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]
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Even so, the conversation around captains does not really end when the announcement is made. There is still room for debate about whether the room should be bigger, and players such as Luke Montgomery and Earl Little Jr. naturally invite that kind of discussion as Ohio State looks for the right mix of experience, voice and presence. The official list is set, but this is the sort of decision Buckeye fans will keep revisiting because leadership on a team this size always feels like more than a formality. [Read more 🡒]