FOX's Joel Klatt reveals two key improvements that Julian Sayin can make to improve his game.
Julian Sayin was awesome for 11 of Ohio State's 14 games last year. When he went against inferior opposition, he was incredible and a true, legitimate Heisman Trophy finalist.
When he faced the three good teams that Ohio State did, he looked like he had improvements to make in his game.
Texas, in week one, could get a pass because it was his first-ever start at Ohio State. He didn't play well, but he did enough to propel the Buckeyes to a win over the Longhorns. It was a decent start to his career, and he gets forgotten about because in the next 11 games, he was special.
Then, against Indiana, the same warts that were revealed in Week One popped up again in the Big Ten Championship game. He showed some hesitation and a fear of making a mistake rather than just playing loose.
That didn't go away. The very next game against the Miami Hurricanes, he showed a lot of the same things. He got gun-shy; he had his eyes on the pressure and not downfield, and he played pretty poorly.
Now, the positive is that every quarterback goes through a learning curve. Ohio State just has such a high standard that this often gets blown out of proportion. However, the leash is short for Sayin, and this year, with Ohio State's regular season schedule, they will not have any time to mess around.
He needs to be great from the moment he steps onto the field against Ball State.
On Friday, Joel Klatt released a video talking about Sayin and what he needs to do to improve. His two critiques were: losing the hesitation against good teams, and developing enough that Ohio State can use his legs.
That has been a critical piece of Ohio State quarterback play. The last five or six successful quarterbacks in the Scarlet and Gray were a threat on the ground.
Braxton Miller, JT Barrett, Cardale Jones, Justin Fields, and Will Howard may not have been run first, but the threat was there.
For Sayin, it is not there. At least not yet.
If Julian can eliminate that hesitation from his game and add the threat to run to his game, he is going to take a major and necessary leap in his quarterback play. He would also help give the Buckeyes a chance to get back to the top of college football.
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