The realization of a lifelong dream feels sweeter than words can express, even if it comes after bitter disappointment.
Julian Sayin told friends and family growing up that he'd be in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist someday. An Oregon fan in his youth, he watched Marcus Mariota hoist the award in 2014 and envisioned standing on the stage one day. Now that he'll officially be attending the ceremony as a finalist, he can only describe it as surreal.
“Me and my brother being quarterbacks, that was definitely a dream of ours,” Sayin said on Wednesday. “And growing up, I would tell people, ‘Hey, one day I'm going to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony.’ So it's definitely pretty surreal to be going out there on Friday.”
Sayin isn't likely to win the Heisman, but the experience of being in New York and standing on the stage in the Jazz at Lincoln Center's Appel Room will be plenty to take in. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the runaway favorite to win the award after outdueling Sayin in a 13-10 Indiana win in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, but that wasn't even on the Buckeye quarterback's mind after the loss.
"Not really a thought (about the Heisman), just was sick to my stomach that we lost and really wanted to win the conference for our university," Sayin said. "So, it was definitely a tough loss, but move on and we've got more games to play."
On that loss, Sayin pinned the blame on his shoulders and that of Ohio State's offense. He says the primary focus will be on fixing the third-down and red-zone woes that hurt the Buckeyes vs. the Hoosiers before Ohio State takes the field again in three weeks.
"(I) think about, there were definitely so many plays that, if we just made, I feel like we would have had the opportunity (to win)," Sayin said. "But we just didn't execute at the highest level and didn't play our best football as an offense. I think our defense played well, and they gave us an opportunity to win. Just as an offense, we didn't play our best football, so we've got to make sure things get corrected so we can play better in the next few weeks."
This weekend, however, will be all about Sayin taking in the experience of being a Heisman finalist with his family. He said his siblings, parents and high school football coach will all be in attendance for the ceremony. It should be even more surreal for him on that day.
“And growing up, I would tell people, ‘Hey, one day I'm going to be in New York for the Heisman ceremony.’ So it's definitely pretty surreal to be going out there on Friday.”– Julian Sayin on being a Heisman finalist
Check out Sayin's press conference on his nomination at the top of the page. Below, you can watch his one-on-one interview with Eleven Warriors' Dan Hope, in which Sayin talked about how Ohio State set him up for immediate success, why he believes there’s “still a ton of room to grow” and his favorite memory so far this season, beating “the team up north.”
