🛫 Pilot Watch: Julian Sayin and Josh Hoover are thriving but the Jets should be wary

Since they play each other this weekend, this iteration of Pilot Watch combines analysis of both Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Indiana's Josh Hoover.

Ohio State and Indiana will be locked in a national showdown of unbeatens. Could either team's quarterback make sense for the New York Jets?

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it's rather easy to lump them together because, as it relates to the Jets, neither should be a legitimate option.

Ohio State's Julian Sayin has done wonders for himself and his brand, but the NIL fund will probably have to last

Beginning with his decision to immediately jump off the Alabama ship with the departure of Nick Saban, Sayin has navigated his college football career perfectly.

At six feet one inch and two hundred fifteen pounds, nothing about Sayin's physicality jumps off a page. In fact, not a whole lot about his play does either. I mean that as both a knock and a compliment.

He's neither a playmaker nor a play breaker. You won't be wowed by any particular throw, but you also won't be disappointed with any decision he makes.

Playing for what has arguably been the best college team in the country during his three years at Ohio State, Sayin drives the Lamborghini the way its owner would want him to - safely and precisely.

He consistently makes the right reads, delivers an accurate ball, and never seems to let ego get in the way of making the right play. His numbers, as a result, are perhaps the only spectacular thing about him.

The elephant in the room is that he's been throwing to Heisman frontrunner, Jeremiah Smith-- who many think is the greatest receiver in college football history.

Should it be a demerit for Sayin that he throws it to Smith? Of course not. In fact, it would be a demerit if he didn't. However, the general consensus is that he is the Charlie Bucket of the college football world, the fortunate town boy who landed the golden ticket.

All that considered, my assessment of Sayin and how he might fit with the Jets is the same as how he'd fit with any team, which is that he probably won't.

Even if it turns out that Smith needed Sayin more than the other way around, he likely lacks the size and physical ability to be an NFL quarterback.

That being said, there is something I kind of like about his quiet confidence and ego-less approach to winning, so I wouldn't be too surprised if we look up in ten years and he's still in someone's quarterback room as their savvy, steady third-string option.

Josh Hoover is a tremendous example of the Curt Cignetti masterclass in culture building

Similar to Sayin, Hoover is another of the many college quarterbacks in history to be accurately described as a "system quarterback."

However, in Hoover's case, that system is a culture more than a playbook.

Curt Cignetti has built an overnight empire in Indiana, proving that attitude and expectations can be immediately set in stone the moment a coach walks onto a new campus.

This was obviously made evident by the Hoosiers winning last year's national championship. Furthermore, I'd argue that it's being made even clearer by how Cignetti and staff have gone about filling the shoes of last year's Heisman winner and No. 1 overall draft pick, Fernando Mendoza.

Instead of giving the keys to Fernando's younger brother, Alberto, following last season, Cignetti dipped into his beloved transfer portal to pluck Hoover out of Fort Worth and TCU.

A three-year starter for the Horned Frogs, Hoover was somewhat of a surprising choice for the rigid Cignetti, given the quarterback's liberal approach to ball security.

In his three years as a Frog, Hoover tossed 71 touchdowns. Quite impressive, until you dilute it with his 33 interceptions and 14 fumbles in the same span.

Validating the aforementioned Cignetti impact, however, the coach has immediately transformed his new signal-caller into his own image as the embodiment of sharp execution. So far this season, Hoover has thrown 17 touchdowns and has not turned the ball over once.

While I give a skosh of credit to Hoover for his ability to grow and his willingness to be coached, this likely has more to do with Cignetti's zero-tolerance policy for bad football.

For the second year in a row, the Hoosiers have a top-five defense and a top-twenty rushing attack in all of college football. Much like Sayin, these can't be digs at Hoover, but the picture is pretty clear that both quarterbacks are cogs, and not the machine.

Also like Sayin, Hoover is relatively undersized at 6-foot-2 inches and 200 pounds. He does not have exceptional arm strength, and even though he seems to be more of a playmaker, he is likely not going to have a long NFL career.

Though I'm not adamantly anti-transfer portal like some others, I do believe that in Hoover's case, leaving a solid program and starting spot at TCU to join the reigning national champions suggests more of a last-ditch effort to improve his draft stock or go out with a bang in what he knows may be his last year playing football by winning a national title.

As for his fit for the Jets in particular, imagine all of Zach Wilson's risk that we know now, but with a weaker arm.

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