According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, former Alabama quarterback Julian Sayin will transfer to Ohio State.

READ: Buffalo names Pete Lembo next head coach

Sayin is a true freshman who early enrolled and joined the Crimson Tide this month. He was a five-star recruit and largely heralded as the top quarterback as part of the class of 2024.

Sayin was the No. 2 quarterback in his recruiting class according to Rivals. He was the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2024 and No. 1 player from California.

“Incredibly excited to join the team here at Ohio State,” Sayin told ESPN. “I held this program in high regard throughout my entire recruiting process and am looking forward to learning from some of the most talented players and coaches in college football and contributing to our team’s success.”

READ: Reports: Caleb Downs to transfer to Ohio State

Ryan Day and the Buckeyes have done some retooling since falling to No. 9 Missouri in the Cotton Bowl and entering the offseason.

Day has added Kansas State quarterback Will Howard, Alabama defensive back Caleb Downs and center Seth McLaughlin as well as Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins among others through the transfer portal.

READ: Ohio State hires Bill O’Brien as next offensive coordinator

Ohio State also named Bill O’Brien its next offensive coordinator. He’ll split duties with co-coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline.

Sayin will bring another arm into Ohio State’s quarterback competition going into the 2024 season. He’ll compete alongside Howard, third-year Devin Brown and fellow freshman Air Noland.

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It was a defensive showcase for both teams as the Buckeyes (11-2, 8-1 Big Ten Conference) held a 3-0 lead entering the fourth quarter.

READ: Reports: Buffalo to hire Dave Patenaude as next offensive coordinator

Ohio State was down to its third-string quarterback Lincoln Kienholz after Devin Brown exited with an ankle injury early in the second quarter.

Jayden Fielding kicked a 44-yard field goal with 3:12 left in the first quarter to give Ohio State its lead.

Missouri (11-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) converted just 10 first downs and Ohio State eight going into the fourth quarter.

The Tigers converted nine first downs in the final quarter as part of a 14-point onslaught. Quarterback Brady Cook went 2-of-2 in the fourth quarter for 38 passing yards.

Cook finished with 128 passing yards on 61% completion. Receiver Luther Burden III had 15 receiving yards and a touchdown.

READ: No. 25 Kansas State wins wire to wire 28-19 over No. 18 NC State in Pop-Tarts Bowl

Schrader totaled 128 rushing yards to become Missouri’s single-season rushing leader. He has over 1,600 rushing yards this year.

Kienholz went 6-of-17 for 86 passing yards. TreVeyon Henderson had 72 rushing yards and Emeka Egbuka had 63 receiving yards.

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Allar will return to his home state of Ohio to play the No. 3 Buckeyes in a top-10 showdown with No. 7 Penn State, and it’s a challenge he said he looks forward to.

“I don’t know how many ticket request I have. I delivered that to my parents,” Allar said. “I don’t worry about the tickets because I got to be focused on the game. I can’t be more focused on anything extra other than that, but I mean, it’s just a great opportunity to go back home. Obviously, we’re going to be facing a top team in the country on both sides of the ball and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

PODCAST: The Shane Beamer Story Isn’t That Serious

An Ohio quarterback playing for Penn State and a Pennsylvania native playing for Ohio State will be the premier matchup of Week 8 when the Nittany Lions travel to face the Buckeyes.

Allar will represent Medina, Ohio, while playing for the Nittany Lions and Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord will represent St. Joseph’s Prep High School based in Pennsylvania.

Allar said “going out and executing our jobs” and “being sound in our assignments” will be key to playing in a raucous environment at Ohio Stadium, a place where he and his friends spent plenty of time growing up.

“I did grow up going to Ohio State games like a lot of a lot of us did in Ohio,” Allar said. “They got a great fan base, a great atmosphere. It’s going to be a very challenging atmosphere. They’re a very passionate fan base. But I think it’s nothing we’re not prepared for. We practice in very loud environments all the time.”

Penn State enters the game Saturday atop the Big Ten Conference and NCAA in a number of categories, notably on the defensive side of the ball.

The Nittany Lions own the top total defense in the country allowing 193.7 yards per game — almost 40 yards fewer than the next closest team.

Offensively, Penn State has the top scoring offense in the Big Ten behind an average of 44.3 points per game.

“I think we’re playing really good complementary football, offense, defense and special teams,” Penn State head coach James Franklin said. “I think that’s been really important for us.”

READ: Report: Michigan being investigated into alleged sign stealing

When Penn State and Ohio State matched up a year ago in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions had a loss and ranked No. 13 while the Buckeyes were unbeaten, the No. 2 team in the country and playing on the road.

The Nittany Lions drew within 30-24 with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and they seemed to be within striking distance of a home upset.

But Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau had other plans, as he recorded two interceptions, two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

“I think last year’s experience was a learning tool for our entire team, for all of our coordinators and all of our coaches,” Franklin said. “I think we played really well for three quarters and didn’t finish. I think that’s a combination of a lot of things. But yeah, there are opportunities to grow and get better as long as you approach them that way.”

READ: Preview Thursday: Week 8

This year, Penn State and Ohio State will have new starting quarterbacks in Allar and McCord. Both have started all six games this season.

Both Allar and McCord are in the top-three in the Big Ten in completion percentage, and both have at least 11 touchdown passes. McCord leads the conference with 275.2 passing yards per game while Allar is seventh at 209 yards per game.

Standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 242 pounds, Allar said the biggest area he’d like to improve is consistency in his footwork.

“I think I still have a lot of room to grow in all areas of playing quarterback,” Allar said. “I feel like the times I have missed throws that I shouldn’t be missing is because of footwork that I just, staying a little bit calmer in the pocket and not burning clean pockets, and I’ve been focusing on that the past two or three weeks, so I feel like it’s paying off so far, but just got to keep hammering that down to make sure it doesn’t cost us in the game.”

The quarterback competitions took place in the preseason for the two respective programs, and McCord won the job over redshirt freshman Devin Brown.

Franklin said he sees similarities between how Ohio State handles its quarterback room with Penn State. Plus, there is familiarity between Franklin, McCord and the Nittany Lions.

“They do a really good job of I think they’re approaching it a little bit like we’ve approached it with Drew with a first-year starting quarterback. And he’s doing what he needs to do for them to be successful offensively and win games,” Franklin said “We recruited him. We know a lot about him. We had a ton of respect for him out of high school and continue to, and think he’s going to be a challenge for us on Saturday as well.”

READ: Big Board: Week 8

Penn State will meet Ohio State in a top-10 battle for the fourth time in the past seven seasons and for the first time since 2019.

The Buckeyes and head coach Ryan Day have lost only to Michigan in conference play since Day took the helm prior to the 2019 season, but this could be the most stout Penn State program yet.

“We’re trying to find a way to get a win this week against a really good team, against a program that we got a tremendous respect for, coaching staff we got a ton of respect for, the talent that they have,” Franklin said. “But we approach it the same every single week. Everybody on the outside is talking. We’re approaching it the way we do every single week. This is a really important game. Why? Because of how we’ve handled the previous six.”

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Also, Jim Harbaugh had some strong statements about the future of the NCAA…which is curious timing considering his current situation with the organization. But he’s poking the bear because he doesn’t think it has any teeth.

Finally, Ohio State has named a starting QB. No one is surprised by the decision, but if the coaching staff was split on who it should be, were the right people being asked for their opinions?

The post The Daily Huddle 8/29 – Colorado’s Inconvenient Truth, and OSU Names A QB appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Head coach Ryan Day said Tuesday that junior Kyle McCord will be the starting quarterback against Indiana Week 1. Day also said redshirt freshman Devin Brown “is going to play in the game” and that McCord’s consistency helped him earn the starting nod. 

“I think that’s significant that we have two guys that we feel confident playing in the game,” Day said. “This is something that’s a little uncharted territory for me. But you just go on what you see every day in practice. And I think that Kyle’s consistency the last couple of weeks has allowed him to be the starter, he deserves that. But I also think Devin deserves to play in the game as well.” 

McCord was considered to be a leader for the starting quarterback position left by C.J. Stroud due to his prior experience in Ohio State’s program. McCord has two seasons under his belt, including a start as a true freshman against Akron in 2021. 

Across 12 games played, McCord had 606 passing yards at a 71% completion rate. He appeared in five games as a true freshman and in seven as a sophomore last year, and McCord is considered to be a pro-style quarterback. 

Whether “how much” playing time will be given to McCord or Brown is yet to be determined, according to Day. 

Brown, on the other hand, has a skill set that can be considered a dual-threat given what he’s shown he’s capable of on the field. He appeared in two games during his debut season. 

Day said Brown “made a real strong push” about 10 days before he announced McCord as the starter. The Ohio State head coach also said both McCord and Brown will have to have a strong grasp Ohio State’s game plan when playing the Hoosiers which kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. 

“I shared with them both that the great thing is they both get an opportunity to be the quarterback at Ohio State with an unbelievable team surrounding them,” Day said. “That’s the exciting part of it, and that’s what they want. When they decided to come to Ohio State, they knew that it wasn’t going to be easy, and they’re fighting tooth and nail to get on the field.” 

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