The opening day of the transfer portal came with a little less drama this year for Ohio State.
This time last year, quarterback Kyle McCord entered the portal, to the surprise of most people around the country. That left Ohio State scrambling into the Cotton Bowl as Devin Brown played just one quarter before getting injured.
This year, it’s Brown who is entering the portal.
He announced on Sunday evening that he planned to enter the transfer portal, but will stay with Ohio State during the Playoff run.
Ohio State backup QB Devin Brown played in six games this season for the Buckeyes. (Adam Cairns / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today)
Brown is one of five Ohio State players who have announced plans to enter the portal, joined by linebacker Gabe Powers, offensive lineman Miles Walker and wide receivers Kojo Antwi and Jayden Ballard.
Last year Ohio State lost 25 players to the portal and added seven. We’ll see who leaves this year but the expanded Playoff will make the timeline slightly different.
Here’s what we know so far.
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How will Ryan Day and the Buckeyes deal with the portal?
In this NIL era, the transfer portal will hit every program in the winter or spring windows.
The winter window opened on Monday and added a new challenge for teams playing in the first 12-team College Football Playoff. While the NCAA allows players an additional five days after their last Playoff game to enter the portal, for some players the longer they wait the fewer options they’ll have.
That’s why players like Brown entered the portal but stayed with their team through the Playoff. That won’t be the case for every player, some will leave the program, but Ohio State will look at transfer situations on a case-by-case basis, coach Ryan Day said.
“There are guys who want to finish what they started here. They want to finish out their commitment and I think those guys deserve a lot of credit for wanting to do that,” Day said. “But I think there are guys that need to figure out, ‘OK, what’s next for me’ and it’s not their fault, it’s just the way it’s designed. We will make decisions on an individual basis. We need to make sure we’re being fair to our guys but also have enough depth to go make this run.”
Those decisions could have a big impact on Ohio State’s Playoff run. If Ohio State wins the national championship it will have played four extra games in a month. Depth will be crucial.
For Brown, he is Ohio State’s backup quarterback and if Will Howard goes down, Brown would be the most experienced quarterback on the roster.
Even a player like Powers could have an impact if he stayed. Day didn’t specify Powers would be on the roster, but he is a key player on the special teams unit. He played 172 special teams snaps this season and 278 over the last two seasons. Losing him isn’t massive in terms of the linebacker rotation, though. Ohio State has already moved Arvell Reese up and is high on true freshman Payton Pierce.
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What will happen at quarterback?
Ohio State’s quarterback room is in a better position than it has been since C.J. Stroud left for the NFL Draft two years ago.
Despite Brown leaving, the Buckeyes have five-star Julian Sayin, the top quarterback in the 2024 class, ready to take the starting job next season. Beyond him, five-star Tavien St. Clair is incoming for the freshman class and Ohio State already has a commitment from five-star 2027 California quarterback Brady Edmunds, who grew up an Ohio State fan.
But there’s an issue of depth and experience to rectify.
Day prefers to keep at least four quarterbacks and while I think it’s unlikely Ohio State loses both Air Noland and Lincoln Kienholz, it’s a possibility.
If both transfer, Ohio State will have just two scholarship quarterbacks next season, which will make the program dip into the portal for depth. That may be difficult, though, because that means a player will transfer to Ohio State knowing the future of the position is in Sayin’s hands.
Ohio State should try to keep Kienholz because of his experience up, but if he leaves, Day will have a tough decision about the quarterback room and how to add pieces in the portal.
He could turn to a Tristan Gebbia-type player, an experienced graduate transfer who will help coach Sayin and St. Clair up and then keep Mason Maggs as a walk-on in the room.
Day could also make the decision that he wants to get a quarterback to compete with Sayin, instead of handing him the keys to the program directly.
There are a few ways Ohio State could go in the portal, but talent isn’t an issue like it was the last two offseasons — depth is. Ohio State has to find a way to keep its numbers up.
What positions will Ohio State emphasize?
Before the portal opened, Day confirmed that Ohio State would go hard on the offensive line in the portal.
With Josh Simmons, Seth McLaughlin, Donovan Jackson and Josh Fryar all expected to leave, the Buckeyes have a lot to address up front. I’d expect Ohio State to attempt to add two starting-caliber tackles, considering they don’t even have a backup right now, and some pieces along the interior of the line.
Ohio State will also have to address depth issues. There are a lot of offensive linemen in the transfer portal and a few names that could fit Ohio State’s search. Northwestern’s Josh Thompson is already planning a visit to Ohio State, according to 247Sports. He started 21 games in his career, including the final 11 games of 2023 at tackle, but has experience at guard, as well.
Other names to watch include Vanderbilt offensive tackle Gunnar Hansen, sophomore Stanford offensive tackle Luke Baklenko, Ball State guard Taran Tyo (an Ohio native) and Texas A&M guard transfer Kam Dewberry. There will surely be more names that pop into the portal and Ohio State is going to be aggressive in pursuing the ones it feels can be a good fit for the program. Ohio State needs at least three players, though, as it attempts to fix a weakness that has been holding back the program for two years now.
There are other positions to look out for, like kicker. Ohio State had interest in Alabama’s kicker, Graham Nicholson, last offseason but has to know it can’t depend on Jayden Fielding again next season. One name that sounds right up Ohio State’s alley is Eastern Michigan transfer Jesus Gomez. The best kicker in the MAC, Gomez made 20-of-25 kicks including a 50-yard field goal and a 57-yard field goal.
One more position to watch is defensive tackle. Ohio State will lose Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton to the NFL Draft and while it expects players like Kayden McDonald, Hero Kanu, and Eddrick Houston can take the next step, it will likely need a more experienced player up front. Ohio State’s defense could look much different next year and defensive tackle is a position of serious need.
(Top photo: Barbara J. Perenic / Columbus Dispatch / USA Today via Imagn Images)
