Editor’s note: Ohio State had a surge of commitments from Sunday afternoon through Monday. Read more here.
Fresh off a 12-2 season, Ohio State has seen 29 players enter the transfer portal, putting it in need of help at nearly every position.
Why is Ohio State losing so much? Keeping depth players sidelined for multiple years doesn’t work anymore when they can get money and playing time elsewhere. But Ohio State’s commitment to developing high school players, which has been the Buckeyes’ philosophy for years, is being overhauled right now.
As of Sunday morning, Ohio State has added just six players from the portal and has plenty of other holes to evaluate. So, with nearly every position group impacted, let’s go position by position with thoughts on where the Buckeyes might go from here.
Quarterback
Transferring out: Lincoln Kienholz
Who is on the roster: Julian Sayin, Tavien St. Clair, incoming freshman Luke Fahey
Quarterback is the most stable position on the roster. Losing Kienholz, who chose Louisville, was expected. He has two years of eligibility left and needed to find a place he can start.
Ohio State will look to add a fourth quarterback. That person will be somebody with experience, who won’t have an expectation to jump up the depth chart. Maryland quarterback Justyn Martin was reportedly on a visit on Saturday, so that’s a name to watch for now. But this position is at the bottom of the needs list.
Running back
Transferring out: James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon
Who is on the roster: Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, Favour Akih, Anthony “Turbo” Rogers and incoming freshman Legend Bey
The outlook of this position changed drastically with the news that Jackson plans to return next season. Jackson had a stellar freshman season, tallying over 1,000 yards, finishing third among all FBS freshman running backs.
His return was crucial for Ohio State, not because Jackson is a perfect prospect, but the Buckeyes already needed to add at least one running back with Jackson on the roster. Without him, the Buckeyes would’ve needed a depth piece and a bona fide starter. And while the Buckeyes could’ve found somebody with a week left in the portal window, locking somebody down is not a given in this sport.
With Jackson back, Ohio State returns its duo of the future with Jackson and West. Ohio State still needs to add a running back who can challenge for playing time and bring back some of the explosiveness it’s had in the past.
Michigan State running back Makhi Frazier, who ran for 520 yards and two touchdowns in nine games, is a name to watch. According to 247Sports, he visited on Friday.
Wide receiver
Transferring out: Mylan Graham, Quincy Porter, Bryson Rodgers, Bodpegn Miller and Damarion Witten
Who is on the roster: Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, transfer Devin McCuin, Phillip Bell, De’Zie Jones and incoming freshmen Chris Henry, Brock Boyd, Jaeden Ricketts and Jerquaden Guilford
The turnover at wide receiver has been a surprise, but it’s difficult to retain so much five-star talent every year and the Buckeyes did lose offensive coordinator, receivers coach and ace recruiter Brian Hartline. Despite the loss of Porter and Graham, the Ohio State receiving corps isn’t in as bad a place as some may think, although it does need some depth for the future. Smith and Inniss bring back experience to pair with young talent like five-star Chris Henry, Phillip Bell and transfer Devin McCuin. Ohio State may add one more receiver to the class, but there doesn’t look to be a major impact player in the portal, as of Sunday morning.
That could change, but it’s looking more and more like the trio of Inniss, Henry and Smith, with McCuin in the rotation, will be the group new receivers coach Cortez Hankton rolls into the season with.
Tight end
Transferring out: Jelani Thurman
Who is still on the roster: Bennett Christian, Nate Roberts, Max LeBlanc, transfer Mason Williams and incoming freshman Nick Lautar
The tight end room is in a holding pattern. The Buckeyes are waiting for Max Klare to make his NFL Draft decision. If he leaves, expect Ohio State to add another tight end, like Northwestern’s Hunter Welcing, who visited last week.
Offensive line
Transferring out: Tegra Tshabola, Devontae Armstrong, Justin Terry, Jayvon McFadden, Isaiah Kema and Ethan Onianwa
Who is on the roster: Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, Josh Padilla, Phillip Daniels, Gabe VanSickle, Deontae Armstrong, Ian Moore, Carter Lowe, Jake Cook and incoming freshmen Sam Greer, Max Riley, Mason Wilhelm, Tucker Smith and Landry Brede
There were no major surprises among the offensive line departures. Ohio State will return four starters and its top two rotation players, VanSickle and Moore. Offensive line coach Tyler Bowen has done a nice job recruiting and retaining, but he’ll have to improve on the field next season. I wouldn’t expect Ohio State to add much either because there aren’t many impact players in the portal, and bringing in five freshmen means the team doesn’t have to add too many depth pieces.
Defensive line
Transferring out: Jarquez Carter, C.J. Hicks, Logan George, Dominic Kirks, Maxwell Roy and Eric Mensah
Who is on the roster: Beau Atkinson, Kenyatta Jackson, Josh Mickens, Zion Grady, Eddrick Houston, Will Smith Jr., Jason Moore, transfer John Walker, Epi Sitanilei, Trajen Odom and incoming freshmen Khary Wilder, Emanuel Ruffin, Dre Quinn, Damari Simeon, Braxton Rembert, Jamir Perez and Darryus McKinley
The defensive line remains one of the biggest needs on the roster.
Ohio State has pushed for Jackson to return, so if he does, it’ll be a big help. If he surprises people and goes to the NFL Draft, Ohio State’s concern at defensive end will hit higher levels.
The Buckeyes have been aggressive in the portal, bringing in several transfers for visits, including priority defensive end prospect Chaz Coleman. The Penn State transfer picked Tennessee instead of his hometown Ohio State. A lot of that came down to the money the Vols were willing to pay, but with Coleman out, Ohio State is now forced to look elsewhere.
UCF defensive tackle transfer John Walker is a good addition, but the Buckeyes have also pursued Alabama duo James Smith and Qua Russaw and Pittsburgh defensive tackle Francis Brewu had a visit this past weekend.
Ohio State will likely try to add at least one more edge and defensive tackle to make an impact next season.
Linebacker
Transferring out: Ty Howard (brother of Bo Jackson)
Who is still on the roster: Riley Pettijohn, Payton Pierce, transfer Christian Alliegro, TJ Alford, Garrett Stover, Eli Lee and incoming freshmen Cincere Johnson and CJ Sanna
The linebacker unit is in a good position. The duo of Pettijohn and Pierce was always expected to be the starting duo, but the Buckeyes wanted to add an experienced player and did so with Alliegro. The Wisconsin transfer has played in 35 games, tallying 124 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss and eight sacks in three years.
Corner
Transferring out: Aaron Scott and Bryce West
Who is on the roster: Devin Sanchez, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Miles Lockhart, Jordyn Woods and incoming freshmen Jay Timmons and Jordan Thomas
Scott and West leaving was a bit of a surprise. Both were in line to compete for a starting spot this spring, but Ohio State was always going to look for impact players in the portal, so it made sense for Scott and West to leave. Ohio State hasn’t landed a replacement for their depth spots or at nickel with Lorenzo Styles Jr., who’s out of eligibility.
Ohio State has to add at least one corner in this portal window, ideally an impact player in the slot or a depth piece, if it chooses to move a safety to the slot.
Regardless, Ohio State has some massive holes, and with just two incoming freshmen, it likely needs more than just one corner.
Safety
Transferring out: Faheem Delane, Malik Hartford and Keenan Nelson Jr.
Who is on the roster: Incoming transfers Earl Little Jr. and Terry Moore, Jaylen McClain, Leroy Roker, Deshawn Stewart, Cody Haddad and incoming freshmen Blaine Bradford, Khmari Bing, Simeon Caldwell and Kaden Gebhardt
Safety was always going to be a position of need when Caleb Downs left for the NFL, but with Delane and Hartford gone, Ohio State now needs more depth.
Hartford’s departure wasn’t a surprise. He lost the battle to McClain in the preseason and then missed the rest of the season with an injury. As for Delane, that was a bit of a surprise. The former five-star recruit was expected to battle for a starting spot in the spring, but he wasn’t guaranteed the Downs’ spot like some may have thought. There’s a reason Roker played in the Cotton Bowl, and not Delane. Still, Delane was part of Ohio State’s future plans. Now, it must find other answers.
On Sunday, Ohio State picked up a commitment from Florida State standout safety Earl Little Jr., who had 76 tackles, four interceptions and two forced fumbles last season. He’s not Downs, but he’s a versatile player who can make an impact in the slot and as the high safety next season. The Buckeyes then added Duke safety Terry Moore as another fit for what they need. The 2024 season was his last season where he played all 13 games, and he tallied 71 tackles, seven tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions, and two forced fumbles.
Teaming Moore with Little and McClain is a strong trio for the Buckeyes and gives defensive coordinator Matt Patricia the flexibility he wants at the position.
Special teams
Transferring out: Jackson Courville and Nick McLarty
Who is still on the roster: Punter Joe McGuire
Ohio State doesn’t have a kicker on the roster right now. Let that sink in. A yearly national title contender does not have a kicker on its roster on Jan. 12. That fact is a massive issue, and the inconsistency over the previous few years makes watching the top kickers in the portal choose other places that much more confusing.
Illinois kicker David Olano made sense for the Buckeyes, but he committed to Texas A&M. Ohio State will continue to explore transfer options, but if it doesn’t work out it offered 2026 kicker Jacobo Echeverria just two weeks ago.
Final thought
Losing 29 players to the transfer portal is never good. That’s the equivalent of losing an entire recruiting class.
On the one hand, though, there are reasons to be optimistic about next year because Ohio State is returning nine of its 11 offensive starters, has a talented linebacker corps, and is working to add more defensive pieces in the portal with another week in the window.
But there’s also the pessimistic, and possibly more realistic view, that no matter what Ohio State’s transfer portal plan is, it doesn’t matter if it can’t land the players it is recruiting. Waiting for players to enter the portal is fine, but it puts a higher emphasis on locking them in than ever before.
Ohio State doesn’t live in a “we tried” world. Expectations are too high for the Buckeyes. They need to add some impact players sooner rather than later.
