tOSU Recruiting Discussion

[ScriptOhio]

Ohio State cannot afford another bargain bin transfer portal class

The Buckeyes whiffed in the portal in 2025, and they need to make up for it in 2026.

www.landgrantholyland.com

Ohio State cannot afford another bargain bin transfer portal class​

The Buckeyes whiffed in the portal in 2025, and they need to make up for it in 2026.

In its quest to repeat as national champions, Ohio State added 11 players via the transfer portal prior to the 2025 season. Of that group, only three made any sort of impact on the field for the Buckeyes, and two (so far) are now back in the transfer portal again.

Really only two of last year’s additions can be considered any sort of a success, those being tight end Max Klare and offensive lineman Phillip Daniels.

Klare finished the season as Ohio State’s third-leading receiver, totaling 448 yards on 43 receptions with a pair of touchdowns. The Purdue transfer’s numbers suffered a bit as a result of quarterback Julian Sayin’s struggles seeing the middle of the field down the stretch, as Klare should’ve had an early game-tying touchdown against Miami — among the many other times the talented pass-catching tight end was open but not targeted.

Daniels was brought in as a depth piece along the offensive line with the hopes that he would develop into a starting-caliber player down the road, but was forced into the starting right tackle role in year one in Columbus. Daniels performed admirably given the situation, lacking from a consistency standpoint but ultimately holding his own when not matched up against the Rueben Bain Jr.’s of the world.

The aforementioned third player to make any bit of impact of this Buckeyes’ transfer class is C.J. Donaldson, who began the year as Ohio State’s starting running back but lost the job to true freshman Bo Jackson. Donaldson was brought in to be a power back, but after the ever-brilliant OSU strength and conditioning staff had him drop 20 pounds during the offseason, his biggest strength (quite literally) was negated.

The rest of the 2025 transfer class for Ohio State was nothing short of a disaster.

Chief among that group was Ethan Onianwa, who came to Columbus as one of the top transfer tackles in the country but was immediately one of the worst offensive linemen on the roster. A complete miss from a player evaluation standpoint, the Buckeyes attempted moving Onianwa to guard before giving up on him entirely, finishing the year having played less than 100 total snaps.

Onianwa was far from the only whiff for Mark Pantoni and the Ohio State player evaluation staff.

Beau Atkinson was another huge miss. Coming over from UNC having posted 7.5 sacks for the Tar Heels in 2024, Atkinson looked completely overmatched on the field for the Buckeyes. Playing a little more than 200 total snaps on the season, the edge rusher finished the year as the second-worst graded defensive player on the roster, per PFF, with his lone sack coming in garbage time against Ohio.

Ohio State also brought in Jackson Courville at kicker, but never actually let him attempt a single field goal in a real game.
The Buckeyes instead trotted out Jayden Fielding, who having not once in his career shown he was capable of making important kicks, proceeded to help lose them the Big Ten title game against Indiana with a 27-yard shank.

Courville, meanwhile, has never in his career missed a field goal under 30 yards, and he is now back in the transfer portal.

There were a handful of other lower-tier additions, including offensive lineman Justin Terry from West Virginia and quarterback Eli Brickhandler from UConn, both of which were basically emergency backups at their respective positions.

There were also the FCS up-transfers, including defensive end Logan George and linebacker Ty Howard. George played 19 total snaps and was injured most of the season, having since re-entered the transfer portal. Howard never saw the field as likely the seventh or eighth linebacker on the depth chart.
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Just sayin' I guess it's no secret that the 2 biggest portal signees for 2025 (i. e. Ethan Onianwa and Beau Atkinson) were major disappointments this season. However, Beau Atkinson has another year of eligibility left; so. if he sticks around. (who knows?) he potentially could have a "banner year" in 2026.

 

[calibuck]

Certainly cannot disagree....and add that we're comparing last year's portal acquisitions to the prior year's ones, Quinshon, Howard, Sayin, etc which were 500' home runs. And if the AD's NIL purse strings were closed, didn't get the ability to compete with the A&Ms, TTs, SCs etc. Finally, guess the NIL tape was full of the few moments that guy shone, rather than the times the DE roared past them....guess you cannot have a mediocre position group, along with an outstanding one, without one affecting the other. Also appears we're losing more 5*s than gaining. Hopefully tOSU doesn't continue to expect the 'big fish/small pond' situations to all prove to be homers....

 

[ScriptOhio]

Assessing Ohio State’s Positions of Need in 2026 Transfer Portal

We assess Ohio State’s transfer portal needs from the most glaring holes the Buckeyes must fill to positions where the Buckeyes could add upgrades or depth.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Assessing Ohio State’s Positions of Need in 2026 Transfer Portal​

Ohio State should be exploring its options for potential additions at every position in this year’s transfer portal, but some positions carry more pressing needs than others.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Buckeyes had added three transfers for the 2026 season: former UCF defensive tackle John Walker, former Ohio tight end Mason Williams and former UCF long snapper Dalton Riggs. Some of Ohio State’s biggest holes remain unfilled, however, and there isn’t any position where the Buckeyes couldn’t benefit from adding some more depth.

Ohio State will remain selective in its transfer additions, given that the Buckeyes signed 28 high school prospects in the 2026 recruiting class. Even after losing 19 scholarship players to the portal, the Buckeyes are currently set to add more players than they’ve lost, though several starters from last season still have NFL draft decisions to make while more players could still enter the portal until Jan. 16.

That said, Ohio State still needs to make numerous transfer additions to build a championship-caliber roster for 2026. There are several positions where Ohio State must add talent due to departures from its 2025 roster, and several others where the Buckeyes shouldn’t be afraid to bring in competition for their projected starters. Even at the couple of positions where Ohio State is likely set in terms of who will lead its depth chart next season, the Buckeyes should still be looking at veteran depth options to offset attrition from players who transferred out or exhausted their eligibility.

Based on who we know Ohio State is losing due to expired eligibility or entering the transfer portal, who Ohio State could lose to the NFL draft and where the Buckeyes need better play than what they had this past season, we assess Ohio State’s remaining portal needs from the most glaring holes to where the Buckeyes should be looking for potential upgrades or depth additions.

Pressing Needs​

Kicker​

Putting this at the top isn’t merely a reaction to Jayden Fielding’s costly misses in Ohio State’s last two games. With Fielding out of eligibility and Jackson Courville entering the transfer portal, Ohio State doesn’t currently have a single kicker on its roster for 2026. Adding a transfer kicker is non-negotiable, and landing one of the top kickers in the portal should be a priority, though no clear target has emerged for the Buckeyes yet.

Cornerback/Nickel​

Ohio State already had reason to add a cornerback or nickelback with Davison Igbinosun and Lorenzo Styles Jr. exhausting their eligibility, but Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West entering the transfer portal made it the Buckeyes’ biggest non-specialist position of need. Ohio State is now losing four of its top six corners and nickels from 2025, leaving the depth chart thin and unproven behind Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Devin Sanchez.

With only two other returning cornerbacks (Miles Lockhart and Jordyn Woods) from this past season, plus two incoming freshmen (Jay Timmons and Jordan Thomas), the Buckeyes need to add someone who can start alongside Mathews and Sanchez and ideally another starting-caliber cornerback to bolster their depth behind the starters.

Ohio State has hosted two potential candidates to fill those holes in former Auburn cornerback Kayin Lee and former Maryland cornerback La’Khi Roland, both of whom were starters at their previous schools.

Wide Receiver​

Ohio State never added a scholarship transfer at wide receiver during Brian Hartline’s tenure coaching the position, but it needs to this year.

With Carnell Tate expected to enter the NFL draft and top backups Bryson Rodgers, Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter all entering the transfer portal, Ohio State has minimal experience at the position outside of returning starters Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss. While Chris Henry Jr. should contend for playing time right away as a freshman, the Buckeyes are looking for a veteran who can step in and play the Z position opposite Smith, which Tate occupied for the past two seasons.

Ohio State’s top target to fill that need right now appears to be former Texas wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., who visited OSU over the weekend in between visits to Kentucky, Louisville and Colorado. Moore caught 77 passes for 988 yards and 11 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
With Porter’s entry into the portal on Tuesday, Ohio State might now need to add multiple transfer receivers to bolster its depth at the position.

(Update: Wide receiver was previously listed as a priority position, but was moved up to pressing need following Porter’s transfer portal entry.)

Priority Positions​

Defensive End​

This will become a pressing need if Kenyatta Jackson Jr. leaves for the NFL draft alongside Caden Curry, who’s out of eligibility. Even if Jackson stays for his fifth-year senior season, adding an immediate contributor at defensive end for 2026 should still be a priority. While Zion Grady looks like a future starter and Beau Atkinson gives the Buckeyes veteran depth, Larry Johnson didn’t trust either of them enough to rotate in regularly in big games this past season – and ideally, Ohio State should have multiple rotational defensive ends to keep the starters fresh.

Ohio State could fill this need if it’s able to beat out LSU and Tennessee for coveted Penn State transfer defensive end Chaz Coleman, the Buckeyes’ top target in the transfer portal. Should the Buckeyes land Coleman and retain Jackson, they’d likely be set at defensive end, barring any further attrition; if they miss out on Coleman or lose Jackson, other potential options could include Florida transfer Jayden Woods and Missouri transfer Damon Wilson.

Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Upgrade​

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