Ohio
What Julian Sayin’s transfer to Ohio State football means for Ryan Day and Buckeye quarterbacks
COLUMBUS, Ohio — What’s that you say, disgruntled Ohio State football fan? You want a more aggressive Ryan Day?
You got him. The Buckeyes coach’s already audacious quarterback-stacking strategy reached its extreme example Sunday night. Recent Alabama enrollee Julian Sayin — the top quarterback in a 2024 class which began signing barely a month ago — is transferring in.
The No. 4 quarterback in that class — Prentice “Air” Noland — attended Sunday’s big OSU women’s basketball win over Iowa, along with hundreds of other currently enrolled students. A cleveland.com source indicated Noland understands the shift in circumstances which led to Sayin’s commitment. No hard feelings. Such is quarterback recruiting in the modern era.
Ohio State also brought in former Kansas State transfer Will Howard earlier this month as the presumptive front-runner to start on opening day. Former top-100 prospect Devin Brown stuck around to compete for that job as a third-year veteran. Day remains intrigued by the long-term promise of Lincoln Kienholz, entering his second year with the program but his first spring.
Gone are those quaint days when Day longed for four scholarship quarterbacks for ideal depth. He’ll hand five of them to new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Bill O’Brien, who happened to help recruit Sayin to Alabama.
It’s almost as if Day endured the general unease about OSU’s quarterback performance last season and vowed he would never experience that again, at any cost.
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Day ultimately takes the blame for whatever shortcoming existed with Kyle McCord, whose transfer to Syracuse made these other additions not only possible but necessary. Day’s general quarterback recruiting strategy has been to bring in a highly ranked prospect in every class. No long-term upside in-state career backups hold scholarships at Ohio State.
The reason? Day does not want to be caught empty handed if he’s wrong about someone, or if the development simply does not work out. Adding Sayin appears to be the most extreme example yet of that — well, take your pick of the best word to use. Philosophy? Neurosis? Paranoia?
No question Sayin is a major talent. Ohio State recruited him out of Carlsbad (Calif.) High School. It tried to pry him away from Alabama post-commitment and only locked down Noland after it could not complete the flip. Nick Saban’s retirement and the reality of the transfer portal provided a clean second opportunity, and Day jumped on it.
Is that fair to Noland, or perhaps even Howard? Again, Noland seems fine with it. Either way, Day has been pushed to a place where those are problems he can worry about a year from now. He can handle the perception of being overly ruthless in roster management if it means beating Michigan and quieting the outrage of those for whom 11-2 and a six-point road loss against the eventual national champion is unforgivable.
Prior to Sunday night, an orderly progression set up in the quarterback room. Howard likely felt he had an edge over Brown or he presumably would have transferred elsewhere. Both could be gone by the end of the coming season. But Kienholz, Noland and incoming 2025 prospect Tavien St. Clair could repopulate the position on a normal timeline.
Sayin’s arrival adds turbulence to an otherwise smooth flight. Common sense tells you the fall quarterback meetings will no longer have five scholarship participants.
Day has never turned to a true freshman as his full-time starter. He owes all five of these quarterbacks a full evaluation this spring. Sayin brings an intriguing mix of arm strength, accuracy and agility — someone who can make the throws Day needs with more ability to freelance outside the pocket.
Howard or Brown remain the more likely opening-day starters due to their experience. As we saw last season, however, doors can open unexpectedly. Sayin’s arrival may not impact the quarterback performance against Akron on Aug. 31. It absolutely impacts how good the No. 2 quarterback must be over the next eight months in order to secure the backup job.
While the timing does not line up, in other ways, this resembles Day’s 2020 signing class combo. Jack Miller III signed on early, when he was one of the top-ranked passers in the nation. C.J. Stroud — like Sayin, a California native — slowly climbed the ranks and joined the class late. They faced off for the starting job in their second string, with McCord jumping in as well, and the process yielded Stroud’s two brilliant seasons.
Sayin and Noland now set up for another big-time competition in spring 2025. Yet the tone for the spring ahead has also shifted. Another major talent has joined the mix, and the most aggressive version of Day we have ever seen will be making the analysis.
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Where do bed bugs come from? How they get could get into your home
Does the thought of bed bugs keep you up at night? Here’s what to know.
Columbus remains one of the nation’s top cities for bed bug treatments, according to Orkin’s latest annual rankings, while Ohio continues to dominate the list more than any other state.
Orkin ranked Columbus eighth on its 2026 list of U.S. cities with the most bed bug treatments, the same position the city held last year. Cleveland ranked even higher at No. 4. Cincinnati came in at No. 15.
Overall, six Ohio cities made the Top 50, more than any other state: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Youngstown, Dayton and Toledo. The rankings are based on residential and commercial bed bug treatments Orkin performed between May 2025 and May 2026.
Chicago claimed the top spot for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
Ohio continues to rank high for bed bugs
Ohio’s strong showing on the list comes as the state has repeatedly appeared near the top of national pest rankings.
A recent USA TODAY report, citing an analysis by Casino.ca, estimated Ohio has the second-highest bed bug risk for travelers in the country, behind only Michigan.
The Orkin rankings do not measure the total number of bed bugs in a city. Instead, they reflect where the company performed the greatest number of residential and commercial treatments over the past year.
Columbus has dealt with bed bug sightings before
The rankings also follow several high-profile bed bug incidents in downtown Columbus government offices.
Last fall, The Dispatch reported a bed bug was discovered inside the Ohio Department of Medicaid’s downtown office, prompting treatment of the affected area.
The Dispatch also reported that employees at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation had reported bed bug sightings, leading to inspections and pest-control efforts.
Those incidents highlighted the challenges large office buildings face when dealing with pests that can hitch rides on clothing, backpacks and luggage rather than originating inside the buildings themselves.
It’s not just bed bugs
Bed bugs aren’t the only pests putting Columbus on Orkin’s radar.
In October 2025, Orkin ranked Columbus No. 21 on its annual “Rattiest Cities” list, a slight improvement from previous years but still among the nation’s leading metro areas for rodent treatments.
Taken together, the rankings suggest central Ohio remains a busy market for pest-control companies as the city holds steady on this year’s bed bug list.
Which Ohio cities made Orkin’s 2026 list?
Among Ohio cities, the rankings were:
- Cleveland– No. 4
- Columbus– No. 8
- Cincinnati– No. 15
- Youngstown– No. 32
- Dayton– No. 38
- Toledo– No. 42
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
After years of unchecked dominance from the SEC, the Big Ten Conference cemented its place as the best in college football in the 2025-2026 season.
The Indiana Hoosiers completed a remarkable 16-0 season by winning a National Championship, beating Ohio State in the conference championship game, dominating Alabama in the Rose Bowl, then blowing out Oregon in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
That completed a Big Ten trifecta, with the Michigan Wolverines winning a championship in 2024, then the Buckeyes following it up by beating Notre Dame to win the title in 2025. While the SEC might have better depth overall, it’s no question that the top of the Big Ten is as good or better than anyone.
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Indiana Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti after defeating the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff National Championship game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on Jan. 19, 2026. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
And a new program might be ready to take their turn at the top of the Big Ten: those same Oregon Ducks.
One of the most predictive measures of a team’s strength from year to year is how much production they return from the previous season. It makes sense; the more key players that stay with the team, the better it is for continuity and development.
The Big Ten, oddly enough, has several teams that return much of their production on both sides of the ball. ESPN’s Bill Connelly ran the numbers, finding that teams like Maryland, Nebraska, Minnesota and UCLA all ranked in the top 10 nationally in returning value. Though given how these teams played in 2025, that’s less important. Number 12, though? The Oregon Ducks.
And that carryover production is coming from a team that lost just two games all season, both to Indiana. They handled a very good USC team, 42-27, overcame miserable conditions to outlast the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road, beat the rival Washington Huskies, and most impressively, shut out an elite Texas Tech team 23-0 in the College Football Playoff. And they bring back the players responsible for 66% of their overall production, including star quarterback Dante Moore.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore (5) warms up prior to the 2025 Orange Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)
Just behind them at 65%? USC, heading into a pivotal season under Lincoln Riley.
Here’s where Oregon has the advantage, however. They bring that percentage back from a team that was significantly better than USC. It’s no surprise then, that per Connelly’s SP+ projections, Oregon is expected to be the No. 2 team in the country, by efficiency on offense, defense and special teams.
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What about the other Big Ten schools, though?
USC is the biggest wildcard. They sit at No. 13 in the SP+ projections, thanks to an elite offense and a defense that’s expected to be solid, if unspectacular. But their special teams projections are all the way down at No. 100 in the country, thanks to a series of disastrous mistakes in 2025. Special teams, though, should be the easiest area to improve upon. So if the Trojans can make some adjustments, they could exceed the eight game win expectancy.
Ohio State and Indiana, the two most recent champions, have a bit of a tougher hill to climb, though their roster composition is far from disastrous. The Buckeyes bring back 60% of their production, while Indiana is at 56%, even with several huge departures. That ranks at No. 31 and No. 52, respectively. Important, but not enough to push either team out of the top 5 in the national projections. And Ohio State sits at No. 1, thanks to consistently elite recruiting and key players like Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith returning.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning attends Oregon Pro Day on March 17, 2026, at the Moshofsky Center in Eugene, Oregon. (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
But if there is an upset brewing at the top of the conference, Oregon might be the place to look. The question then becomes, can they put it all together against a difficult schedule? The Ducks play USC on the road, host Nebraska, travel to Illinois, play Ohio State on the road, host Michigan and have their rivalry game against Washington at Autzen.
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It won’t be easy, but don’t be surprised if at the end of the season, Dan Lanning and the Ducks are right back in the mix.
A Kentucky woman who had been missing for more than two weeks was found dead in her vehicle in Ohio, authorities said.
The body of Debra Wireman was found in her vehicle on July 3 in Clermont County, Ohio, the Flemingsburg Police Department in Kentucky said on Facebook on Wednesday. Investigators were called to the scene after a report identifying the vehicle as belonging to a missing person, police said. The remains were identified as Wireman’s by the Clermont County Coroner’s Office on July 7, according to law enforcement.
Police in Kentucky said the Clermont County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio is investigating the woman’s death. No additional information will be released by Flemingsburg police “out of respect for Debra’s family and the integrity of that investigation.”
“While this is not the outcome any of us hoped and prayed for, we are thankful that Debra has been found and that her family can now begin to receive the closure they deserve,” police added on Facebook.
Wireman, according to police, was last seen on June 17 at around 4:30 p.m. in Aberdeen, Ohio, while traveling toward Maysville, Kentucky. She was driving a white 2020 Kia Forte with front-end damage. Police said family and friends were “concerned for her welfare.”
“The overwhelming response from our community, neighboring agencies, the media, and countless individuals across the region demonstrated the very best of people coming together in the hope of bringing someone home safely,” Flemingsburg police said.
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