Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin responded to only having one media member at his table during Heisman finalist interviews. Credit: © Brad Penner-Imagn Images / Yahoo Sports
By Sam Neumann on

Julian Sayin noticed he had a much quieter table than the other Heisman finalists during Friday’s media session in New York.

While Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza had reporters crowded around them, Sayin sat at his table with just one media member for a stretch. Not the scene you expect for one of college football’s top four players.

Someone asked Sayin about it Saturday.

“I think I did see that, yeah,” Sayin said, per Yahoo Sports. “It was funny. I’m at a great school in Ohio State. They do a great job with media. Whoever comes over here, I’d love to talk to them.”

The quiet table turned out to be a preview of how the voting went. Sayin finished fourth when the results were announced Saturday night. Mendoza won it with 2,362 points and 643 first-place votes. Pavia finished second with 1,435 points. Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love placed third with 719 points. Sayin got 432 points and eight first-place votes.

Despite playing for one of college football’s biggest programs and putting up elite numbers — 3,323 yards, 31 touchdowns, six interceptions, and a nation-leading 78.4 completion percentage in his first season as a starter — Sayin wasn’t the story this year.

Pavia transferred from New Mexico State and led Vanderbilt to an improbable season. Mendoza took Indiana to the Big Ten Championship Game and a 13-0 record in his first year with the program. Those narratives carried more weight than a redshirt freshman putting up numbers at Ohio State, even if the Buckeyes went 12-1.

The Heisman would’ve been nice, but Ohio State — and Sayin — still have bigger goals ahead.”

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann