Ohio State Quarterback Julian Sayin Praises Receiver Room, Talks Win Over Michigan On Triple Option Podcast

Ohio State has a few key pieces returning ahead of the 2026 season, including sophomore starting quarterback Julian Sayin, but the team also consists of plenty of new pieces. Perhaps the most prominent departure from that 2025 team was offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, who is now the head coach at South Florida. 

The Buckeyes hired former NFL head coach Arthur Smith to become its new offensive coordinator and former LSU receivers coach Cortez Hankton to occupy the same role in Columbus.

In an interview on “The Triple Option,” podcast hosted by former Alabama running back Mark Ingram, former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and Fox’s Rob Stone, Sayin said he’s adjusted to the new offense well.

Sayin said Smith’s offense puts some extra responsibility on the quarterback and includes some lengthy play calls. He said he’s used the time during the offseason to not only learn Smith’s system, but also grow with a receiver room that includes returners such as Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss, and transfers Kyle Parker and Devin McCuin.

“We always have some great guys in that receiver room,” Sayin said. “That’s always something you can bet on. Coach Hartline did a great job with those guys. Coach Hankton, coming in, is doing a great job. It’s a lot of fun as a quarterback to have those guys on the outside, and when you have them one-on-one, and your coach says, ‘give him a shot, let’s give it to him.’”

Five-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. made as much noise as anyone in the room during the spring. The highly-recruited Henry capped an impressive first spring with an impressive performance in the spring game. He finished the exhibition with four catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.

“I think he’s a great player,” Sayin said of Henry. “He has a lot of potential. He had a great spring. It’s been fun to build that relationship with him.”

In the interview, Sayin also discussed his first start against Michigan last year. The Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 27-9 for the first time since 2019. Sayin threw an early pick in that game, but still had one of his best performances of the season. The Carlsbad, Calif., native threw for 233 yards and three touchdowns while completing 19 of 26 passes.

Sayin said the Buckeyes didn’t have much nerves heading into their matchup against Michigan.

“I think the team had kind of a great mindset going into it,” Sayin said. “We weren’t really feeling a ton of pressure. We know how much it means to the state of Ohio and to our fanbase, but walking into the stadium, it was a ton of fun and we had a bunch of juice. Off the bat, I threw the interception, but after that, I felt like we were in control.”