If the 2024 cycle was going to be the same as 2023 when it came to Notre Dame deciding on when to offer a quarterback, then offensive coordinator Tommy Rees would have extended offers next March.
Instead, Rees and Co. got started very early in the 2024 cycle. He offered Carlsbad (Calif.) High’s Julian Sayin, a rising sophomore, a scholarship last Friday. Sayin was the first quarterback Rees offered in 2024; the second offer went out Sunday after Saline (Mich.) High’s CJ Carr impressed the staff at Irish Invasion.
“It’s pretty special,” Sayin said of being the first Notre Dame quarterback offer in his class. “It shows you how much of a priority you are to them. That’s really cool.”
Rees and Sayin’s June 4 conversation was their first time chatting on the phone. The news of the offer was a welcome surprise for Sayin.
“We were about to go to dinner, then I got on FaceTime with Coach Rees, and we had a good conversation,” Sayin recalled. “He was really impressed with my game and wanted to get me an offer. He wants me to throw for him and visit. He seems like a really chill, cool guy.”
Sayin has been in the South in June, visiting Florida, Florida State, Georgia and Miami in the past week. He’s hoping to visit Notre Dame with his private quarterbacks coach Danny Hernandez, who also trained Tyler Buchner in high school. When Sayin was in middle school, he even trained with Buchner on a few occasions.
Clearly, Rees likes his San Diego quarterbacks. And probably unrelated but still interesting, Rees previously worked in San Diego with the Chargers in 2016.
“I’ve been watching them on TV for a while,” Sayin said about Notre Dame. “That’s a special program with a lot of history and a rich tradition.”
Sayin is also scheduled to see Texas and Texas A&M this month.
The 6-0, 180-pounder holds double-digit scholarship offers. Arizona, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Penn State, San Jose State, Texas A&M, Utah State and Washington State are on Sayin’s offer list.
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