Ohio State made the announcement on Monday that former 5-star QB - and Alabama transfer - Julian Sayin had won the team's starting QB job. Sayin becomes the third former Crimson Tide QB who will start elsewhere this season, joining Eli Holstein (Pitt) and Dylan Lonergan (Boston College). Sayin's performance will be under the biggest microscope for Alabama fans, however.
Sayin was one of the main headliners for Nick Saban's final recruiting class in the 2024 cycle. He signed with the Crimson Tide and enrolled in early January, just to watch Nick Saban retire days later and throw his world into a loop.
Sayin didn't enter the Transfer Portal right away, instead choosing to stick around and give the new coaching staff a shot. But Kalen DeBoer never made Sayin a priority. Instead, DeBoer prioritized his own QB - Austin Mack - and got him to transfer with him to Tuscaloosa. One day after Mack announced his intent to join DeBoer at Alabama, Sayin entered the portal.
Sayin was a consensus 5-star and the No. 3-ranked QB in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but he didn't fit the mold of a DeBoer/Ryan Grubb QB. They didn't fight to keep him in Tuscaloosa. Now, Sayin has moved on and just won the starting QB job for the defending National Champion Ohio State Buckeyes.
Kalen DeBoer choosing Austin Mack over Julian Sayin could blow up in his face
If Sayin becomes the star QB that his recruiting ranking points to him being, one of DeBoer's first major roster moves at Alabama could ultimately prove to be extremely costly. Sayin will start for Ohio State this fall, while Austin Mack competes with freshman 5-star Keelon Russell to be Ty Simpson's backup.
It's possible that Sayin, too, would have lost the QB battle to Simpson at Alabama had he stayed in Tuscaloosa, but it's looking less and less likely that Mack will ever start for the Tide. Russell seems to be the heir apparent to Simpson and is the future face of the program.
Of course, it's also fair to wonder whether Russell ever comes to Alabama to begin with if Sayin is in the QB room. Russell vs. Sayin could ultimately prove to be the litmus test for whether DeBoer and his staff made the right decision or not. It'll likely be at least a year down the road before that question is answered.
For now, Alabama fans will be watching Columbus closely to keep an eye on the guy who, in another universe, would be leading the Crimson Tide into Tallahassee in 12 days.