Heisman Finalist
Julian Sayin is Ohio State’s seventh Heisman finalist since 2018.
For the fifth time in eight years, Ohio State’s starting quarterback is a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Julian Sayin is one of four finalists for the 2025 Heisman Trophy along with Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia.
Congratulations to the 2025 Heisman Trophy finalists: @NDFootball RB Jeremiyah Love, @IndianaFootball QB Fernando Mendoza, @VandyFootball QB Diego Pavia, and @OhioStateFB QB Julian Sayin!#Heisman | #MoreThanATrophy pic.twitter.com/kbVh0SxFAd
— The Heisman Trophy (@HeismanTrophy) December 8, 2025
Sayin is Ohio State’s seventh Heisman finalist since 2018, continuing a recent run of Heisman finalists from OSU that started with Dwayne Haskins in 2018 and continued with Justin Fields and Chase Young in 2019, C.J. Stroud in both 2021 and 2022 and Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2023.
No other school has had more than four Heisman finalists (Alabama) since 2018.
Ohio State hasn’t had a Heisman winner since Troy Smith in 2006, and that drought is expected to continue this year. Sayin had a real chance to win the award if he led Ohio State to a win over Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, but Mendoza is now the heavy favorite to win the award after leading the Hoosiers to victory over the Buckeyes.
Just being a Heisman finalist is a big accomplishment in itself, though, especially for a first-year starter like Sayin, the only underclassman among this year’s Heisman finalists.
Sayin has been the nation’s most efficient passer this season, leading the FBS in both completion percentage (78.4%) and passer rating (182.1). He’s currently on pace to break the single-season NCAA record for completion percentage of 77.4% set by Oregon’s Bo Nix in 2023.
With Sayin leading the offense, Ohio State went 12-0 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. Sayin is also a finalist for the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Davey O’Brien Award, all of which will be awarded during ESPN’s College Football Awards Show on Friday (7-9 p.m.)
The Heisman Trophy will be awarded on Saturday in New York City. The Heisman ceremony begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised by ABC.
