COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State’s 2024 quarterback recruiting class was unique.
The Buckeyes had four-star Air Noland committed for months, as the No. 56 overall player in the nation was set to join a depth chart that looked open in 2025 and beyond. Taking two quarterbacks in a single recruiting class, especially at the caliber of Noland, is incredibly rare.
And then Alabama coach Nick Saban retired.
With NCAA rules dictating players can be in the transfer portal for 30 days after the departure of a coach, five-star quarterback Julian Sayin entered the transfer portal shortly after having signed with the Crimson Tide. And the Buckeyes immediately got involved.
“The Julian thing was not something that we planned on,” OSU coach Ryan Day said Wednesday. “But when it became a situation that was available, we felt we could really enhance the room. So we did it.”
Sayin was the No. 6 overall player, and No. 1 quarterback, in the class, per the 247Sports composite rankings. He had been committed to Alabama since Nov. 2, 2022, and while he earned an offer from the Buckeyes in January 2023, he remained committed to the Crimson Tide through National Signing Day in December.
Then things changed for Sayin and Alabama, as they did for Ohio State. And now, the Buckeyes have two high-end quarterbacks from the 2024 class in the quarterback room as early enrollees.
“They’re just getting started,” Day said of Noland and Sayin. “The fact you’re coming in mid-year now, it’s a little bit more normal. It allows everybody an opportunity when they come in the summer to not be a freshman anymore.”
Sayin will join Ohio State as the reigning Gatorade California Player of the Year in 2023, and the MVP of the Elite 11 Finals last summer. When it comes to accolades, there isn’t much he didn’t accomplish at the high school level.
An accurate passer with good physical tools, he is certainly viewed as a player who can join a program and play sooner rather than later.
©2024 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit cleveland.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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