The former consensus five-star prospect has won the quarterback competition over the older Lincoln Keinholz.
AUSTIN, Texas — When the Texas Longhorns defense takes the field at Ohio Stadium for the season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin will line up behind center for head coach Ryan Day after winning a quarterback competition against junior Lincoln Kienholz that last throughout the offseason and deep into preseason camp.
Day declared Sayin the starter during a media availability on Monday, following a meeting with both quarterbacks earlier in the morning, citing Sayin’s “consistency” and separation from Kienholz over the last week of practice, .
“Our guys are confident with both quarterbacks; we’ll need both quarterbacks,” Day said. “Lincoln did a lot of great things, but we’re going to name Julian the starter here, give him the majority of the reps with the [starters] and go prepare to beat Texas.”
Ranked as the No.6 player nationally and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Sayin signed with Alabama but transferred to Ohio State following Nick Saban’s retirement.
In high school, Sayin thew for 7,824 yards, 85 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, showcasing his consistently strong decision-making as a senior with one interception in 212 pass attempts for a stunning interception rate of 0.5 percent.
As a true freshman in 2024, Sayin played 27 offensive snaps over four games while preserving his redshirt, completing 5-of-12 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown, a 55-yard pass to tight end Bennett Christian against Western Michigan.
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is familiar with Sayin — the Carlsbad (Calif.) product was one of five quarterbacks offered by the Longhorns in the 2024 class and a top target until the commitment of Arch Manning in June 2022. Sayin pledged to the Crimson Tide a little more than four months later and Sarkisian eventually took a commitment from Trey Owens, a much less-heralded regional recruit, early the following year.
“A ton of respect for Julian. We recruited him hard here. He was a very gifted passer, really good player. Came to camp with us I want to say two years in a row, and so we’ve got a lot of familiarity with him,” Sarkisian said on Monday. “So very good player, elite passer, very good arm talent, very quick release, really accurate guy.”
Those are all qualities that helped Sayin win the job over Keinholz, who is older, but not as talented and lacking in experience as well, attempting 22 career passes over 68 snaps.
As the Buckeyes transition to their new starting quarterback, Sayin’s job will be made easier by the offensive talent on the Ohio State roster, including star receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate.
“Obviously, he’s got great weapons around him and he’s the type of guy that can utilize those weapons in a good system,” Sarkisian said. “So it poses a heck of a challenge.”
Category: General Sports
