Analyst: Ohio State’s Julian Sayin has experience, but Buckeyes QB must take the next step in 2026

Ohio State enters 2026 with a clearer sense of its quarterback pecking order, after Julian Sayin was named the starter during the 2025 season and helped steer the Buckeyes through a strong start. Yahoo Sports highlighted that Ohio State began the year 12-0 and that, from an operational standpoint, there was “no quarterback controversy” all season long, with Sayin holding the No. 1 role over Lincoln Kienholz and Tavien St. Clair.

The reason that matters is that the quarterback position is not only about who plays, but about what the offense becomes week to week. According to the Yahoo Sports analysis, Sayin was “very good during the first 12 games of the season,” and the early results suggested the staff had made the right call by sticking with him as the starter.

However, the same analyst emphasis is that experience is not a ceiling. The Yahoo Sports piece is built around the idea that Sayin’s time in the system and the reps he accumulated should translate into more than stability, it should translate into improvement. The headline framing, “Sayin Has Experience,” sets up the central point: in 2026, the expectation is for him to “better” the production and decision-making the team showed in 2025 rather than simply replicate it.

That distinction is particularly relevant for Ohio State because the Buckeyes’ standards are tied to performance under pressure, not only efficient execution. A quarterback can be the right choice in a given season and still have obvious growth areas. Yahoo Sports’ framing implies that Sayin’s 2025 run offered enough certainty to name him starter, but also left room for a higher bar in the next year, when opponents will adjust and Ohio State’s offensive rhythms will face new tests.

The presence of Kienholz and St. Clair is part of the context, even without any late-season turmoil. Yahoo Sports references that Sayin won out over the other options on the roster and maintained the role all year. That can help reduce internal competition distractions, but it also places more responsibility on the starting quarterback to keep delivering, since the organization has already committed to a single leader at the position.

For 2026, what to watch is whether Ohio State’s offense looks more decisive and consistent as the season progresses, especially in situations where defenses typically tighten. If the staff believes Sayin’s experience is the foundation, then the next step becomes translating that experience into sharper production patterns across quarters and against stronger competition.

Even if the starting situation is stable again, the football question will be whether Sayin’s game takes the next leap. This is the core message from the analyst: the “experience” is valuable, but the Buckeyes need progression, not simply continuity.

Until Ohio State’s 2026 depth chart is fully visible through summer reports, spring practice observations, and the early fall slate, the best way to interpret this assessment is as a performance-driven checklist. The Yahoo Sports argument does not call into question who should start, it calls into question how high the quarterback has to rise to match Ohio State’s expectations in 2026.