Julian Sayin and Tavien St. Clair will battle for the lead spot as the Ohio State Buckeyes begin to defend their national title.
Julian Sayin Tries to Fend Off Tavien St. Clair for Buckeye Starting QB Job
With Will Howard headed to the NFL, the Buckeyes start on the road to defending their national title.
Sayin and true freshman Clair will take the practice field looking to claim the top spot. On March 17, the next chapter in Ohio State quarterback history will begin. So, who emerges as the one to face Texas in the opener?
Sayin walks onto the field with a confidence born of not just practice reps but game action. He excels in ball placement, the ability to not only throw a receiver open but gain yards after the catch. Plus, his composure drew raves from teammates and coaches.
On the other hand, he will not flash exceedingly long athletic plays with his feet. Possessing adequate to good athleticism isn’t normally a minus. Meanwhile, St. Clair, a five-star recruit, possesses those attributes all day.
First, he can and will break contain, testing the footspeed of linebackers and the angle acumen of defensive backs. In the pocket, the freshman can make every throw with touch, velocity, and timing at all three levels.
When breaking down Sayin and his prospects, On3 Recruits spares no time in praising what they see, stating:
“This is the guy that is the definition of composed. I mean you saw his demeanor under the bright lights of the elite 11, you saw it during some of the biggest games of his high school career. Julian Sayin is as cool as the other side of the pillow, and he is a pure distributor of the football. He is such a quick release and is able to scan the field.”
As mentioned, the accuracy places Sayin in a different class as far as the Buckeyes are concerned. You can see the wheels turning for Ryan Day. Accuracy wins games and scores points.
While not the flashiest approach, scoring alleviates the need for banking on one or two athletic plays to bail out an offense. In addition, Sayin’s film, either from high school or the limited sample from last season, shows excellent ball control and not guiding within the throwing motion.
The Buckeyes struck gold with St. Clair, but according to many sources, he does not look ready to lead a team that could repeat as national champions. With the comparisons to former Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields, you have to weigh the positives and negatives of that.
First, while hyperathletic, accuracy continues to fail Fields to this day. In all honesty, he didn’t really progress since leaving Columbus.
St. Clair needs to play better than that. Next, during Fields’ time at Ohio State, the school wasn’t coming off a national title, with everything in place for a run at a repeat. However, how does Day keep a five-star quarterback on the bench without losing him? He needs to weigh winning now against developing an elite athletic talent.
KEEP READING: Ryan Day Updates Ohio State QB Battle Between Julian Sayin and Co.
At the end of the day, no one knows what Day will do or who he will choose. Yet, the choice looks rather obvious, and that could hurt St. Clair. Would he transfer? More importantly, would the Buckeyes care?
Ohio State will never seem to run out of options at quarterback. As long as the money flows, the program should always be a threat. The question remains if Sayin can be super or not.
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