COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Julian Sayin has been to New York City before, but the Ohio State quarterback’s previous experiences were nothing like the one he’s gearing up for this weekend.
“My parents are from the East Coast, so they’ve gone a couple times and I went back,” said the Carlsbad, California, native who will join Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia in the Big Apple this weekend as Heisman Trophy finalists.
“I think I went around Christmas time actually when I was 12, and we just went around the city and did whatever it was,” Sayin said. “We didn’t go on a tour or anything.”
Sayin may not win college football’s most coveted trophy after Mendoza led the Hoosiers to an upset win over the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship last Saturday, but he is looking forward to the Heisman ceremony on Saturday night.
“I think it’s just going to be an awesome opportunity to be in New York and take it all in and experience the spirit of the ceremony. It’s going to be awesome,” said Sayin, who joins Dwayne Haskins Jr., Justin Fields, Chase Young, C.J. Stroud and Marvin Harrison Jr. as Buckeyes to be invited to the Heisman ceremony since 2018.
The trip to New York caps a regular season in which Sayin threw for 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns as a first-year starter for the defending national champions.
His 78.4% completion rate leads the nation and would be a national record if he can maintain it through the College Football Playoff, besting Oregon quarterback Bo Nix’s mark of 77.4% in 2023.
Another former Duck came up when Sayin was asked about his memories of the Heisman ceremony. He said he was an Oregon fan when Marcus Mariota won the statue in 2014.
“That would probably be my memory,” he said. “I was always watching them (Oregon) as a West Coast kid.
“They were big, and it was awesome to see an idol of mine win that award. So it’s really special to have my name in that conversation.”
When the weekend is over, he will get back to preparing for the CFP.
The second-seeded Buckeyes will play Dec. 31 in the Cotton Bowl against either No. 7 Texas A&M or No. 10 Miami. Those teams play Dec. 20 in College Station, Texas.
“I’m excited to watch that one and just be prepared for both because they’re both great teams and either one of them could win that game,” Sayin said.
He will hope to have a better ending than Mariota, whose Ducks lost to Ohio State in the first College Football Playoff championship game during his Heisman season in 2014.
“Yeah, that one hurt as a fan to watch,” Sayin said with a laugh. “That one hurt.”
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