When famous Alabama head coach Nick Saban announced his departure from the sport after 17 years of dominance—during which the Crimson Tide won six national titles—major shockwaves went through the college football world. The current Alabama players have thirty days after Saban announced his retirement to consider transferring to another college and completing their undergraduate careers.
Many athletes chose to access the link even though Saban’s decision was made during the start of classes at most universities, making transfers more challenging. Julian Sayin, a true freshman quarterback and the younger brother of Penn’s standout signal-caller Aidan Sayin, was one of those guys.
It was inconceivable, just over a month ago, that the younger Sayin would even step foot through the portal this quickly. Following his November 2, 2022, commitment to Alabama, the No. 1 quarterback and fifth-ranked player overall in the 2024 class—as determined by the 247Sports composite—had a relatively quiet recruitment, choosing to stick with his commitment to the Tide in the face of late offers and intense competition from schools like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and LSU. On December 20, the Elite 11 MVP and native of Carlsbad, California, signed his National Letter of Intent. He even participated in Alabama’s Rose Bowl workouts.
It is said that Sayin traveled to Tuscaloosa mainly to play for Saban. But after learning of the coach’s unexpected resignation, the consensus five-star recruit decided it would be best to go, formally registering on the transfer portal on Friday morning. Many universities expressed interest in recruiting him, and some supporters of Red and Blue thought he might attend Penn to work under his brother for a year before taking over in the following season.
Been expecting this news since we hired our new OC a few weeks ago. Assume he’ll be the understudy for his older brother next season, then three years running the Quakers. #FightOnPenn https://t.co/j51jhdtzTe
— Mike Mahoney (@MMPennAC) January 20, 2024
Unfortunately for the Quakers, that would not come to be as Sayin promptly decided to enroll at Ohio State. There, he will rejoin Bill O’Brien, the former offensive coordinator for Alabama, who had originally recruited Sayin to Tuscaloosa before departing for the NFL.
Thrilled to be a part of the Ohio State squad. Sayin told ESPN on Sunday, the day of his commitment, “I have the utmost respect for this program and am excited to learn from some of the best players and coaches in college football and contribute to our team’s success.”
Sayin will join a quarterback room in Columbus that is already strong thanks to the addition of Kansas State transfer quarterback and expected starter Will Howard to the team, as well as the signing of another 2024 five-star prospect Air Noland out of Georgia last month. Sayin, however, is aware of the difficulties he faces and is motivated to succeed while growing in a school that has produced three signal-callers selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since 2019.
Although Julian isn’t scared to compete with anyone, there were no guarantees regarding playing time right away. He is aware that they have a capable quarterback in place, but his main objective is to report to camp prepared to play, and I believe he is as well, according to Sayin’s high school coach Thadd MacNeal, who spoke with 247Sports on Sunday.
