Ohio State’s Transfer Numbers Above National Average

Since the beginning of the NCAA Transfer Portal in October 2018, the landscape of college football has changed. This is especially true since the NCAA ruled earlier this year to allow student-athletes a one-time transfer without requiring them to sit out for a year.

According to 247Sports, the portal saw 1,720 entries in the initial 2018-19 cycle before dipping to 1,695 in 2019-20. This past year, however, the number of entries increased to 2,510 transfers.

The Buckeyes have seen 10 players enter the portal in recent months, including Quinn Ewers, Dallas Gant, Darrion Henry-Young, Ryan Jacoby, Jagger LaRoe, Jack Miller, Ryan Watts and Craig Young, as well as former linebacker K’Vaughan Pope and safety Amir Riep who are also in the portal, but were dismissed from the team prior to them entering.

In total, Ohio State has seen 28 players enter the transfer portal since its installation. Italics denote a walk-on player.

	Class	Position	Destination
Alex Badine	2018	CB	Albany
Matthew Baldwin	2018	QB	TCU
Malik Barrow	2016	DL	UCF
Mookie Cooper	2020	WR	Missouri
Kory Curtis	2017	QB	Gannon University
Quinn Ewers	2021	QB	Texas
Dallas Gant	2018	LB	N/A
Jaelen Gill	2018	WR	Boston College
Zaid Hamdan	2018	DL	James Madison
Darrion Henry-Young	2020	DE	N/A
Ryan Jacoby	2019	OT	Pitt
Tyreke Johnson	2018	CB	Nebraska
Keandre Jones	2016	LB	Maryland
Jagger LaRoe	2018	QB	N/A
Tate Martell	2017	QB	Miami
Jack Miller	2020	QB	N/A
Garyn Prater	2017	WR	Cincinnati
Isaiah Pryor	2017	S	Notre Dame
L’Christian Smith	2018	WR	Cincinnati
Brian Snead	2018	RB	Iowa Western C.C.
Ryan Watts	2020	CB	N/A
Brendon White	2017	S	Rutgers
Alex Williams	2018	DE	Vanderbilt
Jameson Williams	2019	WR	Alabama
Max Wray	2018	OT	Colorado
Craig Young	2019	LB/S	Kansas

On average, 19.3 players per team, including walk-ons, have entered the transfer portal since 2018 according to 247Sports, meaning the Buckeyes have seen an above average number of players enter the portal. While it could point to a competitive nature that results in the best players rising to the top, it’s left Ohio State struggling for numbers at some positions, including linebacker and in the secondary.

Ewers highlights the group of transfers as the nation’s top recruit in 2021, though the biggest loss for Ohio State may have been Jameson Williams, who has 1,445 receiving yards for Alabama this season.

Though Ohio State has had losses to the portal, the Buckeyes have also been able to take advantage, with Justin Fields, Jonah Jackson, Trey Sermon and Noah Ruggles all transferring in from elsewhere.