What adding Julian Sayin means for Air Noland at Ohio State

Air Noland thought he was going to be the lone quarterback for Ohio State in their latest recruiting class. However, due to the fallout in Tuscaloosa, he will now be joined by Julian Sayin, the top quarterback prospect from this past cycle.

Still, according to On3’s Pete Nakos, that addition isn’t one that he thinks is going to affect Noland. As he said during ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Sunday, he expects Noland to take it like a competitor and battle with Sayin for the position once they get the opportunity to do so.

“I had the chance to speak to Air Noland super quick at the Elite 11 Finals this summer. He strikes me as the kind of kid who’s not going to run for the hills,” said Nakos. “He’s going to kind of embrace competition.”

Noland played high school football at Langston Hughes (GA) where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 41 overall recruit in the 2024 cycle. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He finished as the No. 5 QB in the class and the No. 7 player out of Georgia.

Noland was the fourth-highest member of the Buckeyes class upon its completion. He was behind only WR Jeremiah Smith, the top player in the entire class, along with EDGE Eddrick Houston and CB Aaron Scott Jr..

As for Sayin, a product out of Carlsbad, California, he was a Five-Star Plus+ prospect. He was the No. 5 player, the top quarterback, and the top player out of California in 2024. Sayin signed with Alabama back in December and even participated in bowl practices with the Crimson Tide. After the retirement of Nick Saban, though, he elected to enter the transfer portal. He spent all of two days in the portal before then committing to the Buckeyes on Sunday.

As Nakos noted, none of this will likely matter this season with Will Howard, the former quarterback at Kansas State, also transferring to Columbus. Still, in the future, it sets up for a quarterback battle between Noland and Sayin that Nakos expects both to be a part of.

“Will Howard is going to start this year,” Nakos said. “Like, we all know that. So I think that this now turns into more of now, maybe, the table is set for competition next year.”

“I definitely think that Air Noland strikes me as the kind of guy who is going to stay in Columbus and fight for that job next to Julian Sayin,” said Nakos. “We’ll see how everything kind of falls after that.”