Now that the Spring Game is in the rearview, the Spring transfer portal window has burst wide open. On the first day, hundreds of FBS and FCS players made the jump for several reasons. Some athletes were pushed out, others were incentivized, to put it indiscreetly. For Ohio State, two players reportedly added their names to the portal on day one. In today’s college football environment, coaches have to recruit their players back to the team on a yearly, almost monthly basis. Hopefully, for Ryan Day and the defending national champions, the losses will be minimal.
In any case, Ohio State’s portal strategy in the Day era has been “quality over quantity.” Some teams choose to supplant entire recruiting classes with incoming transfers. Ohio State picks a handful of players who could contribute and who fit the culture. Already, six players have transferred and enrolled via the Winter portal window. While Day hasn’t explicitly said they are looking to add, he would be remiss not to do his due diligence. There are a few positions the Buckeyes should target in the portal for upgrades.
Ohio State Should Add a Few Pieces From Spring Portal
Rushmen Reloaded
Overwhelmingly, the sentiment within Buckeye circles is that the defensive line depth is not quite what it needs to be. Losing four NFL-bound linemen is going to take a toll. Ohio State’s recruiting efforts on the defensive line have been good, but heading into 2025, could even a casual Buckeye fan name one of the projected starting four? There is a stark difference in the 2025 rotation compared to the 2024 rotation. The group is inexperienced. Eddrick Houston could break out, as could either of the defensive ends. Logan George flashed in the Spring Game after making the jump from the FCS level. Even then, it wouldn’t hurt to add.
One of the top defensive ends in the portal is set to take a visit to Ohio State (and Georgia). Former UNC Tar Heel Beau Atkinson was a composite four-star player as a recruit in the 2022 cycle. He appeared in 26 games over the last two years and broke out last year with 35 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and seven-and-a-half sacks. The Buckeyes already took in one edge rusher, so it’ll be interesting what happens with Atkinson.
Former Vanderbilt defensive tackle De’Marion Thomas is the top interior defensive lineman in the portal as well. The six-foot-two, 320-pound tackle started all 13 games for the Commodores last year and logged 34 tackles with a sack.
Realistically, if the Buckeyes add, it’ll be for depth. However, either of these two could earn playing time in the rotation.
A Veteran Presence
Adding a quarterback should not be out of the question. No, this is not to say Ohio State needs to find its next starting quarterback via the portal. Julian Sayin and/or Lincoln Kienholz are good enough to take over. However, it wouldn’t hurt to add a graduate transfer just to add to the room.
In the event that Sayin is picked to lead the Buckeyes – or, at the very least, the writing is on the wall – Kienholz could be persuaded to hit the portal. In that case, the quarterback room is Sayin and true freshman Tavien St. Clair. St. Clair could be an incredible athlete and quarterback but only having two inexperienced quarterbacks in the room is not ideal. At the very least, the Buckeyes should consider adding a clipboard-holding graduate transfer with coaching aspirations.
No, that’s not Nico Iamaleava, Gio Lopez, or even Jaden Rashada. In all reality, if Ohio State does add a quarterback, it won’t be anyone on anyone’s radar.
All in all, the Spring portal window is not going to have as many day-one contributors as the Winter window. Even then, Ohio State would do well to add. The roster is likely mostly set for 2025, but there will be departures. It may not happen on day two or three of the window, but the Buckeyes will lose a few more. Day and company will need to be proactive in replacing the depth lost.
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