The biggest blessing Ohio State has had over the past decade has been its quarterback play, maybe even more so than its wideouts. Amid all that, and with a new 7,600-yard Heisman hurdle now in the picture, Ohio State head honcho Ryan Day gave Julian Sayin the ultimate compliment any quarterback would die to hear.

“We feel like we have the best quarterback coming back in college football next year,” Ryan Day made his stance clear on Julian Sayin during The Ryan Day Show.

It’s pretty rare to hear Ryan Day go this hard with the praise so early. While he’s always been a big fan of his past stars like Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud, he usually sticks to safer comments about their ‘work ethic’ or ‘potential’ during the offseason. In fact, just last August, he refused to name a starter for weeks, calling the race ‘neck and neck.’

It’s rare for Day to offer such definitive praise so early. By flat-out labeling Sayin the best returning QB, he’s making an aggressive statement that breaks from his usual reserved offseason approach with past stars like Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud.

Sayin’s 2025 stats definitely earned his coach’s trust after a wild 2025 season. As a redshirt freshman, he was a Heisman finalist and set a huge national record by completing 77% of his passes. Sayin’s 177.5 passer rating from 2025 is the highest of any quarterback returning to college football this year.

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He racked up 3,610 passing yards (10th in FBS) and 32 touchdowns. Day mentioned that it’s rare to see an underclassman make it to the Heisman ceremony in New York. He expects Sayin to take home the trophy this time.

“One of the youngest guys to get to New York City, I think, in a while,” Ryan Day made his argument. “Most of the guys who’ve been going there are older guys. So we’re all excited about this year for him and about him taking the next step, even as a leader and in all the different things. But obviously, a great first year for him.”

Julian Sayin was going toe-to-toe with Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza until the very last game. If it wasn’t for that Indiana Hoosiers Big Ten game, Sayin undoubtedly would’ve won the Heisman last season. He also had a pretty bad day at the Cotton Bowl against Miami. He got sacked five times in that contest and threw a combined three picks.

But Day thinks those ‘disappointing’ moments are just fuel for Sayin to ‘dive into this thing’ and come back even stronger for a second year as the starter.

“This is somebody who hasn’t played a lot of football. It’s his first year playing, and he competes,” Ryan Day said.

He works on it in the meeting room. What he does in terms of his preparation, what we put on his plate, and getting us in and out of plays, protection checks, this guy here has got a very, very bright future ahead of him. I think Julian has a chance to be as good as he wants to be.”

Looking ahead to the 2026 season, things are going to get a lot more interesting. Sayin still has his superstar receiver, Jeremiah Smith. Carnell Tate and Max Klare are headed to the NFL. Plus, the schedule looks brutal, with road trips to Texas and USC, along with a rematch against Indiana. It’s going to be a true test to see if he can handle the pressure without his veteran safety nets.

Right now, Sayin is one of the top names on the 2026 Heisman Trophy shortlist. His odds are sitting around +900. He isn’t the only superstar in the mix, though. He’ll be battling it out with Texas phenom Arch Manning (+650) and Notre Dame’s CJ Carr (+700).

While Day is all-in on Sayin, the Heisman race is far from a one-man show. In fact, one prominent recruiting analyst believes a transfer from the G5 ranks, who boasts over 7,600 career yards, could be the biggest hurdle in Sayin’s path to the trophy.

Analyst touts former G-5 quarterback for Heisman Trophy

Recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong is putting his chips on former G-5 gunslinger, Byrum Brown, as a top Heisman Trophy contender next season.

“I’m not going to sit here and say he’s going to have 3,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing this year in the SEC,” Steve Wiltfong said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning show. “But if he does, you can put another Heisman inside that football facility. I do think that they [Auburn] have one of the best quarterbacks in the country this year.”

He even put him over top portal QBs like Brenden Sorsby and Sam Leavitt. The reason why most analysts, Steve, and others are so excited is that Brown put up video-game numbers at USF. Over the last 4 years, he threw over 7690 yards and 61 TDs, despite not playing two seasons as a starter.

In 2025, he achieved something truly impressive by becoming one of just 12 players in college football history to both throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards in a single season. He also threw 28 touchdowns and added 14 rushing touchdowns, showcasing his incredible talent and versatility.

He’s in the company of Heisman winners and runners-up like Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, and Johnny Football. Safe to say, Wiltfong wasn’t just throwing words for the sake of it. Wiltfong basically said that if Brown can pull off those kinds of stats again in the SEC, Auburn might as well start making room in their trophy case for another Heisman.