At Ohio State, 'Developed Here' absolutely includes transfers
Ohio State has perhaps the best reputation in college football when it comes to developing players they recruit out of high school. But what does not get talked about enough is how the Buckeyes are also doing a great job of developing players they get via the transfer portal. We have much more.
One of the mottos of Ohio State's football program is "Developed Here." You can find it written in massive letters throughout the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The Buckeyes are very proud of their reputation of developing excellent football players, and why shouldn't they?
When people hear the term "Developed Here" they likely think of players OSU recruited out of high school and stayed in Columbus for 3-5 years.
However, Ohio State has also become a program known for developing transfers as well. Will Howard had by far the best season of his career during his lone season in Columbus in 2024. Same deal for Seth McLaughlin. Josh Simmons, anyone? Davison Igbinosun is another good example and there are more, such as Will Kacmarek and others.
Caleb Downs likely would have been a stud anywhere he went – and in fact was as a true freshman at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State for his final two seasons – but you can include him if you'd like. Same deal for Quinshon Judkins.
Head coach Ryan Day was asked about this topic at his press conference earlier this week and gave an insightful response.
"Well, I think when you talk to guys like Davison or Will (Kacmarek), Quinshon, guys who have been in the program for a year or two, they can kinda do the talking for you as opposed to a coach. My son (RJ) is being recruited by some of these schools and I go on these visits and I kinda tell our staff, all coaches sound the same. They say the same thing over and over again.
"I think the thing that's different about Ohio State is we have the testimony to actually back it up. And we have the statistics to back it up. When you talk about the winning record, you talk about the stability, you talk about the development and what goes on here. We're very proud to say that I think we major in developing the elite athlete and preparing them for what's next, not only on the field but in life, but on the field as well.
"And maybe there's another team out there that has both coordinators who are former NFL head coaches, I don't think they do. (There is in fact no other program in college football history that has had two former NFL head coaches as its coordinators. This is a first.) And that's a tribute to (athletic director) Ross (Bjork) and our board to be able to go get the best people here and bring them in and pay them because they're pouring (knowledge) into our players.
"And so, when you come into Ohio State, you're gonna be surrounded by the best. You're gonna be on the biggest stage, you're gonna be surrounded by great people. Surrounded by players with the same mindset, and I think that matters as well. If you wanna know where you're going, just look around at who you're hanging with. And if you're trying to keep pace with these guys every day, it's only gonna make you better.
"So, guys like Davidson and Will come in from other programs, they just get a feel for that. And I love asking them, and I think it's always a good question to ask some of the guys who come from different programs, even for you guys. 'So, what's the difference between Ohio State and where you were?' It's always good to get that feedback and perspective back.
"But we're proud of that and how we set it up and excited to see where those guys end up here in a couple weeks (in the NFL Draft)."
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