For 2024 Alabama QB Commit Julian Sayin, Competitiveness In His DNA

2024 is set to be a wild year in the SEC with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas. Five-star quarterback Julian Sayin welcomes the competition as he aims to prove he's ready to lead the Crimson Tide.

Joe Gaither | Jul 11, 2023

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Carlsbad High School quarterback Julian Sayin is comfortable in the open water. Whether it be playing spike-ball, surfing with friends or just hanging out in the ocean, Sayin is in his happy place on the beach, despite the potential dangers that the depths contain.

“We actually do have kind of a shark issue right now in Southern California," said Sayin to BamaCentral on Monday. "One of my best friends, he’s a lifeguard out here, so he’s been telling me, but they’re far out and they’re really not interacting with humans too much so I’m not too worried.”

In fact, there's not much that the five-star quarterback is concerned about heading into his final semester as a high school quarterback.

Why?

Because the 2023 Elite 11 winner knows just where he wants to go and his older brother, Aidan, showed him exactly how to get there.

Sayin's relationship with his brother, current starting quarterback for the Penn Quakers, has shaped his entire life to this point.

"I was always a competitive kid growing up with my brother. I was always trying to be better than him. So it (the competitiveness) was always kind of in me."

That competitive nature has driven Sayin to the top of the 2024 quarterback rankings and inspired him to commit to the Crimson Tide, even though Alabama already has five underclassmen in its quarterback room.

“You know, it’s just going in and competing. I was never picking a place because of how the quarterback room lined up, I just wanted to go to the place that best fit for me and I’m not worried. I mean, I like competition. I want to go in there and be coached hard and the other players are going to bring the best out of you.”

When the 6-1 superstar arrives in Tuscaloosa in 2024 the college football landscape will be dramatically shifted with conference realignment and an expanded college football playoff, but even the prospect of playing the nation's elite in the remodeled Southeastern Conference doesn't intimidate the Californian.

“It’s exciting with the new teams coming in, Oklahoma and Texas, to see these blue bloods coming in. I’m excited, I think it should be a lot of fun. You’re going to play whoever in front of you and you want to play the best competition.”

It's that competitive spirit and his brother's example that helped Sayin lead the Lancers to two consecutive Avocado League titles in California as an underclassmen.

The rising senior is on track to graduate in December and enroll in Alabama for the coming spring semester, ensuring he puts his best foot forward for the first quarterback battle of his promising career.

Alabama fans eagerly anticipate Sayin's Tuscaloosa arrival as a massive question mark looms under center this fall but the five-star is focused on making his final high school semester a good experience first before stepping into the SEC.

"I'm focusing on being a big leader on my team and really just enjoying my senior year and having fun before I get to college."

Sayin is five months away from his life completely changing but with three years of Avocado League experience, intense scrutiny at Elite 11 and a lifetime of sibling rivalry under his belt, he's ready.

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