Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
’Canes pushing for star passer
Sayin has already committed to Alabama
The Miami Hurricanes, looking for their next quarterback commit, are eyeing a top prospect already committed to a college football powerhouse.
California native Julian Sayin committed to Alabama on Nov. 2, but Mario Cristobal and the Miami staff have not backed down from the challenge.
“I hear from Coach Cristobal often, and he is definitely a relentless recruiter,” Sayin told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Sayin is one of the most coveted prospects in the 2024 class, earning a five-star ranking in 247Sports’ composite rankings. He is listed as the No. 2 quarterback and No. 15 player in the class. In 2022, he completed 67 percent of his passes for 2,708 yards and 27 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Sayin, who also ran for three scores, helped lead Carlsbad (California) High to a 10-2 record.
As a result, Sayin had his pick of more than two dozen college offers but chose the Crimson Tide.
“Love the culture at Alabama,” Sayin said. “The winning tradition and the ability to play for coach Nick Saban is something I couldn’t pass up.”
Since his commitment, Sayin said he has reduced communication with a lot of teams.
“It has changed because I don’t talk to as many schools,” Sayin said, “but some still haven’t backed off.”
Miami brought in one quarterback in the 2023 class, threestar prospect Emory Williams. However, UM’s quarterback room is looking thinner. Although incumbent starter Tyler Van Dyke appears poised to return, backup Jake Garcia transferred to Missouri. Miami has just three scholarship quarterbacks: Van Dyke, Williams and rising sophomore Jacurri Brown.
Van Dyke suffered a midseason injury that limited him to only parts
of two of the Hurricanes’ last five games, and Miami’s passing offense struggled mightily. The Hurricanes finished the season 60th in the nation in passing offense, and ended the year 97th in scoring offense.
As a result, there has been some coaching turnover with more potentially on the horizon. Quarterbacks coach Frank Ponce departed to become the offensive coordinator at Appalachian State. Offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is still in his position, but there is speculation he could be coaching elsewhere in 2023, too.
Sayin said he has a good relationship with Cristobal and Gattis and said potential turnover would not be an issue. He also believes the Hurricanes will improve on offense in the future.
“They struggled on offense,” he said, “but it is only Year 1, so I think they’ll just need some time.”
Miami will have a tough time trying to sway Sayin from his Alabama commitment, as he only plans to visit Tuscaloosa this year. Getting Sayin to visit Coral Gables would be a big step for the Hurricanes as they try to pry him away from Saban.
In the meantime, Sayin has lofty goals for his final high school season as he looks to end his preps career with a title.
“My goals for senior year are to win CIF San Diego section and a state championship,” Sayin said.