How do opponents attack Julian Sayin? Hear from anonymous coaches

Ohio State has talent all over the field — there’s no doubt about it. So where do opposing teams look to attack when the Buckeyes have the ball?

According to one anonymous Big Ten defensive coordinator, it’s simple; Julian Sayin and his ability — or inability — outside of the pocket.

“He’s not a very big guy, I do like the way he manages the game and throws it,” the coordinator told ESPN. “The way they use him, he’s been pretty unwilling to run. He’s a good athlete, but you want to try to get him out where he doesn’t want to be.”

It’s clear that Sayin isn’t a dual threat runner, combining for -44 yards last year — which includes sack yardage from 16 sacks. His season high in 2025 was 13 yards against Penn State and his longest rush was 12 yards against Washington.

Sayin doesn’t need to be a runner… let’s be honest. He’s coming off a season in which he threw for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns, with just eight interceptions, and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. With so much talent around him, however, there are questions about his ceiling.

“In the games that we played, there wasn’t much that I saw from [Sayin],” one Big Ten coach said. “Other than he just ran the offense very well.”

A game manager? That’s a lot to say about someone who came in and led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title game and College Football Playoff as a first-year starter. It’s not like Sayin didn’t go up against quality opponents and deliver.

His 77.0 completion percentage is the best in single-season program history at Ohio Stae, is a Big Ten Record and also is third highest in FBS history.

Sayin threw for 250+ yards in eight games and was sixth in the nation in yards per attempt.

Sayin enters 2026 as a Heisman candidate and looks to lead a Buckeyes team ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll to a bit of revenge after the way last year ended.

Time will tell if he can be that guy to do so.

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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: How do opponents attack Julian Sayin? Hear from anonymous coaches