Former Alabama Cornerback Cam Calhoun Transfers to Ohio State

On Thursday, the former Alabama, Utah and Michigan cornerback committed to Ohio State from the transfer portal, bolstering the Buckeyes' secondary with two years of eligibility remaining.

BREAKING: Alabama transfer DB Cam Calhoun has Committed to Ohio State, he tells @On3

Calhoun has totaled 27 tackles and 10 pass deflections over the last 2 seasons

Hell have 2 years of eligibility left https://t.co/RlUbB6Fk7q pic.twitter.com/NiHs6GSEim

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) January 15, 2026

Calhoun was a four-star prospect ranked as the No. 397 overall recruit and No. 41 corner in the recruiting class of 2023, produced by Cincinnati's Winton Woods High School, where he played with current Ohio State corner Jermaine Mathews Jr. There's no record that he held an Ohio State offer at any time during his recruiting process out of high school, but while on an unofficial visit to the Buckeyes for The Game on Nov. 26, 2022, he committed to Michigan. OSU lost that day, 45-23.

After redshirting one season with the Wolverines, Calhoun hopped in the portal and transferred to Utah, where he emerged as a lockdown corner in pass coverage. He collected 21 tackles, one interception and a team-high nine pass breakups. Per Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks completed less than 50% of the passes they threw to Calhoun's man, as he allowed just 21 receptions in 43 targets in pass coverage for just 231 yards and two touchdowns. That's just 5.4 yards per target.

That earned Calhoun a shot with another blueblood, Alabama, after entering the portal again before his redshirt sophomore season, but he never cracked the Crimson Tide's starting lineup. He played a bench and special teams role, occasionally seeing meaningful snaps, recording seven tackles, one PBU and a fumble recovery.

He'll provide needed depth to Ohio State's cornerback room, however. Mathews, a senior, and sophomore Devin Sanchez project as the Buckeyes' starters on the outside with Florida State safety transfer Earl Little Jr. at nickel, but Ohio State is thin otherwise after some transfer portal attrition. Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West (Wisconsin) both projected as at least OSU's top backups in 2026, but both entered the portal earlier this cycle. That left the Buckeyes with an experienced group of two incoming four-star freshmen (Jordan Thomas and Jay Timmons), and a redshirt freshman (Jordyn Woods) and redshirt sophomore (Miles Lockhart) who are both lower-rated prospects with little to no experience as the only backups to Mathews and Sanchez.

An experienced hand to help in case of emergency, play dimeback in six-DB packages or even occasionally spell starters as Calhoun did for Alabama, is the type of support Ohio State needed to fill out its 2026 secondary.

Calhoun becomes the third Alabama transfer to join the Buckeyes for the 2026 season, joining defensive linemen James Smith and Qua Russaw. It’s the second time in three years that Ohio State has added a trio of Alabama transfers; Caleb Downs, Seth McLaughlin and Julian Sayin all transferred to Ohio State from Alabama in 2024.