Ohio State concluded its spring practices with the spring game today. Despite the weather being a spoilsport, thousands attended the game to see how their Buckeyes would look next season. In his short outing, QB1 Julian Sayin showed a glimpse of another addition to his game.

The Heisman runner-up’s first touchdown was similar to how Fernando Mendoza ended his campaign last season. Sayin led a methodical 14-play, 65-yard opening drive, in which he completed six of his eight passes for 45 yards. The highlight of the drive was his 4-yard touchdown run.

The QB1 ran away from pressure to showcase his running ability, which could open up a lot for Ohio State’s offense. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza has a similar end to the national championship game against Miami. The Hoosiers were holding onto a slim 17-14 lead, and facing a clutch situation at 4th and 5 from the Canes’ 12-yard line, the Heisman winner took off on a designed run.

While the stakes were nonexistent for Sayin, the Buckeyes’ QB1 can add those QB draws to his game. In his first year as a starter, Sayin finished the season with 3,610 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. However, across the campaign, the QB1 showed a degree of hesitation to scramble.

That was particularly exposed in the Big Ten Championship game and the loss to Miami in the playoffs. Because defenses didn’t see Sayin as a running threat, Indiana and Miami could pass-rush aggressively. That led to a combined 10 sacks in those two losses.

And now Sayin has shown that he’s not afraid to drop his shoulder and take off. In his remarks after the game, he admitted that he’d been working to improve his pocket presence and internal clock during the spring practice. Am I imagining things?

Julian Sayin just opened the Spring Game with a Sayin rushing TD pic.twitter.com/EtGNPOBbAM — The Buckeye Nut (@TheBuckeyeNut) April 18, 2026 Off the field as well, Sayin has been busy developing a rapport with his wide receivers. WR Brandon Inniss was particularly pleased with his signal-caller. “Julian [Sayin] has definitely been a way better leader this year, in my opinion,” Inniss said.

“We’re going to go out there to California in a couple of weeks and just get with Julian to keep up that connection, because that’s the biggest thing for wide receivers, to have that quarterback-wide receiver connection. So we’re going to have a great offseason.” Ryan Day projected satisfaction with the depth in the QB room and Julian’s performance. “It was good to see him move around out there, but he was moving well and moved well this spring.” “So, depth is important at every position, but we know how important it is at quarterback.

So, there has been a lot of growth in that room. But we all know what the expectation is. The expectation is to step in and play at a championship level.” Takeaways from the Spring Game This year’s Spring game saw an increase in the no. of Buckeye fans from 40,136 to 40,240, with the defense winning 35-26 at Horseshoe.

Julian was not the only one who caught everyone’s eye; Chris Henry Jr. did as well. The top wide receiver from the class of 2026 stepped into the shoes of Carnell Tate perfectly. Henry displayed incredible hand strength and downfield speed, increasing his chances to rank as the No. 2 receiver in his freshman season.

Notable absentees from the game included Austin Siereveld, who retracted his name from the NFL draft for another season with OSU. Buckeyes’ safety Earl Little Jr. was also missing in action after he underwent a knee procedure. “He’ll be back here in a few weeks,” Day said.

“Just some of these things that this time of year. It’s the right time to get them done so that they can get put behind us, as much as we’d love to see them continue to evolve with the defense.”