While the winter transfer portal in college football has officially been closed for almost two weeks, the rule allowing players to enter the transfer portal if a coaching change has been made has rocked the roster of the Alabama Crimson Tide and new coach Kalen DeBoer.
The most recent departure is the No. 1-ranked QB in the 2024 ESPN 300, Julian Sayin (Carlsbad, California). To say the least, this shakes up the portal but also might shape future 2025 QB recruiting decisions as well.
Sayin enrolled early at Alabama and began classes this month, coinciding with the announcement of coach Nick Saban's retirement.
While most top-level prospects both from the 2024 recruiting class and the portal have signed, this leaves Sayin with a decision that needs to be carefully thought out -- not only in terms of comfort and fit, but also opportunity.
Ohio State Buckeyes
There is a lot that makes sense here. First, new offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien was the first to offer and recruit Sayin when he was at Alabama from 2021-22. It's now clear after the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic that Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz are not the answers for the Buckeyes, who also recruited Sayin during the process. Transfer Will Howard comes over from Kansas State as a bridge player in 2024 and Air Noland, a four-star, joins the Buckeyes from this cycle. By the end of spring football, the QB room in Columbus could clear out quickly. This would leave Ohio State with a veteran in Howard and two young players, Noland and potentially Sayin, competing for the starting job in 2025.
O'Brien did an excellent job adapting to Bryce Young's talent while at Alabama, so we know he isn't stubborn about how to move the football. Sayin seems he could fit into any scheme because he's athletic and can get the ball out quickly, but I'd expect to see heavy play-action and RPO-based short game given the running back talent currently at Ohio State. If Sayin and Noland end up in the same room, that will be one of the better quarterback competitions because they have very similar skills.
USC Trojans
Yes, bowl star Miller Moss is back, and the Trojans took Jayden Maiava from the portal after a huge redshirt freshman year at UNLV. But this is USC and coach Lincoln Riley, and there could not be a better skill/scheme marriage in the portal for Sayin, who has all the traits Riley covets in a signal-caller.
The USC offense is built to spread the defense thin horizontally, employing a heavy guard/tackle counter run game and then working the quick passing game and play-action to the perimeter to get receivers like Zachariah Branch in space. That is when the Trojans attack vertically off play-action. This is not a true Air Raid system but is still a quarterback's dream because decisions are supposed to be made quickly and the run game is a priority. Sayin is decisive, accurate and can move the pocket, very similar to how Baker Mayfield played in this offense at Oklahoma.
UCLA Bruins
The Bruins took two three-stars in Karson Gordon and Henry Hasselbeck in the 2024 recruiting class. They also lost former five-star Dante Moore, who transferred to Oregon. Coach Chip Kelly's offense is very desirable. UCLA did have some staff shakeup, losing QB coach Ryan Gunderson to Oregon State.
Kelly's offense has morphed over the years from being a true zone-read scheme that he used to revolutionize college football, but it's still a desirable scheme for quarterbacks. The RPO game coupled with a power run game and lots of shifts, motion and eye candy in the backfield have only enhanced its diversity and made the scheme more difficult to defend. Sayin is smart and football-savvy and could flourish running this scheme.
Sleeper team: Texas Longhorns
This might sound wild with Quinn Ewers returning and former five-star Arch Manning waiting in the wings. But if Texas lays out a plan to increase depth and compete immediately after a redshirt and then couples that with Steve Sarkisian's offense and track record of success, Sayin has to listen to that pitch. Ewers moves on a year from now, Manning would be a redshirt junior and Sayin would be a redshirt freshman.
Sayin should be attracted to Sarkisian's scheme because perhaps no offense in the country does more to set up its playmakers than the Longhorns. Shifts, motions, personnel groupings -- they have a new wrinkle every week. So a quarterback is set up to succeed if he can handle the moving parts and identify the matchups. Texas has also added several top transfers and former Alabama players since Saban's departure.
Another sleeper: UCF Knights
Having transitioned smoothly into the Big 12, UCF signed a bridge player in KJ Jefferson from Arkansas. It might not be an actual option for Sayin, but UCF deserves a close look given the program's ascension and need at quarterback. There are some bodies in the QB room right now, but that is going to thin out this spring. If you look at coach Gus Malzahn's history of offensive production, you will see how vital an athletic quarterback is. That's why Sayin, much like John Rhys Plumlee, could be perfect in this scheme -- not just as a passer, but as a runner.
Biggest need and ideal fit, but won't happen: Clemson Tigers
Clemson needs quarterback talent and depth quickly. The likes of Hunter Helms and Paul Tyson in the QB room last year weren't good enough. The Tigers signed highly regarded prospect Christopher Vizzina in the 2023 class, but he didn't climb the depth chart. Incumbent starter Cade Klubnik will be moving on soon, and Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley runs a similar scheme to his brother at USC. This would be a great opportunity for both sides if Clemson wants to get back to being a College Football Playoff contender every year.