The transfer portal officially reopens on Monday, and Ohio State should actively pursue upgrades to its 2025 roster.
Ohio State is poised to lose at least 16 of its 22 primary starters from this season. Quarterback Will Howard, running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, tight end Gee Scott Jr., offensive linemen Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin and Josh Fryar, defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, defensive tackles Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams, linebacker Cody Simon, cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock and safety Lathan Ransom are all seniors while left tackle Josh Simmons has already declared for the 2025 NFL draft.
Add in the fact that running back Quinshon Judkins, linebacker Sonny Styles and cornerback Davison Igbinosun also have NFL draft decisions to make, along with the likelihood that Ohio State will lose some of its veteran backups to outgoing transfers, and the Buckeyes have a real need to reload the roster this offseason.
The first step of that process took place on Wednesday and Thursday as the Buckeyes signed 26 high school prospects in the recruiting class of 2025. But while there are certainly some players in that class with the potential to be immediate contributors, the Buckeyes must also bring in some more experienced players to help them replace the many key players they’re losing from their starting lineup.
With that in mind, we take a look at the five positions that should be the highest priorities for Ohio State when the transfer portal opens next week. Below the top-five rankings, we also assess the possibility of the Buckeyes looking for transfers at every other position – which, in many cases, will depend on whether Ohio State suffers attrition from outgoing transfers or NFL draft declarations beyond the players it already knows it will be losing at each of those positions.
1. Offensive Tackle
Josh Simmons’ decision to enter the draft left no doubt about which position Ohio State most needs to upgrade through the transfer portal. Ohio State doesn’t even have one clear candidate to start at offensive tackle next season, let alone two, so the Buckeyes ideally need to add multiple offensive tackles who can come in and compete for starting jobs.
“That's the one area there that I feel like we got to make sure that we're going to be moving forward into the next few weeks addressing. We have to do that,” Ryan Day said Wednesday when asked about the offensive line.
Going into a season in which the Buckeyes could turn to a redshirt freshman (Julian Sayin) to start at quarterback, Ohio State simply can’t afford to go into 2025 without any proven commodities at tackle. Moving Tegra Tshabola to tackle could be an option, as he was being developed primarily as a tackle before moving inside to right guard this year, and Ian Moore is a promising young prospect who could push for a starting job if he has a good second year of development. At a minimum, though, Ohio State needs to find a proven high-level starter at left tackle who it can confidently count on to lead its 2025 offensive line.
2. Kicker
Ohio State’s decision to commit to Jayden Fielding rather than look for a potential upgrade at kicker last offseason backfired at the worst possible time when Fielding missed two field goals inside of 40 yards against Michigan. Even before those misses, it was evident with some of Ryan Day’s fourth-down decision-making this season that there was hesitancy to trust Fielding with kicking long field goals.
After his misses made the difference between winning and losing the defining game of the Buckeyes’ season, Ohio State should take a page out of its rivals’ playbook – who secured arguably the best kicker in college football this year in Arkansas State transfer Dominic Zvada – and look for a kicking upgrade in the transfer portal.
3. Interior Offensive Line
Ohio State’s interior offensive line needs for next season aren’t as dire as its offensive tackle needs, as the current starting trio of Austin Siereveld, Carson Hinzman and Tshabola are all expected back next season while Joshua Padilla and Luke Montgomery are also candidates to push for starting jobs next year as third-year Buckeyes. Considering the lack of success Siereveld, Hinzman and Tshabola had against Michigan, however, Ohio State shouldn’t be relying solely on their development for next season.
Bringing in a veteran center worked wonders for this year’s offensive line until Seth McLaughlin went down with a season-ending Achilles injury; given that Hinzman performed better at left guard than he did before moving back to center, adding another veteran center could be a prudent move. There’s reason for optimism that a strong duo of starting guards will emerge from the rest of the group with another year of development, but the Buckeyes shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to add a proven top-tier guard if one comes their way.
4. Defensive Tackle
With Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams moving on after this season, defensive tackle might be the biggest question-mark position on Ohio State’s defense going into next season. Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston are both promising candidates to potentially start next season, but none of Ohio State’s other returning defensive tackles performed well enough in spot duty this season to earn a consistent role in the rotation.
Ohio State will be hoping the likes of Hero Kanu, Jason Moore and Will Smith Jr. can become quality pieces of its defensive tackle rotation next season with another year of development, and the Buckeyes should have the quantity of DTs they need for next year with the incoming freshman trio of Jarquez Carter, Maxwell Roy and Trajen Odom. Given the limited experience Ohio State has on this unit, though, the Buckeyes should be looking for a starting-caliber veteran to help lead the rotation with McDonald and Houston.
Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald could lead Ohio State’s defensive tackle rotation next year, but the depth behind them is a major question mark.
5. Defensive End
Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. are strong candidates to start as seniors after waiting their turn behind Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, but their limited action in big games – including just seven snaps for Jackson and three snaps for Curry – leaves in question whether Ohio State will count on them to lead the defensive end rotation next year. Even if they do, Ohio State will need to bolster the depth behind them and add at least one edge defender who can make an impact in next year’s rotation.
Mitchell Melton could still potentially return for a sixth year, and a move to the edge is seemingly on the table for C.J. Hicks; if both of those things happen, this need might not be as pressing. Without them, however, there would be a need to add at least one defensive end for depth after signing only two defensive ends in the 2025 class due to the late decommitments of Zahir Mathis and London Merritt.
Other Positions
Cornerback
Whether Ohio State pursues a starting-caliber cornerback in the transfer portal likely depends on whether Davison Igbinosun enters the 2025 NFL draft. If he stays, next year’s starting lineup is likely to consist of Igbinosun, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Lorenzo Styles Jr., with five-star freshman Devin Sanchez and second-year cornerbacks Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West also being real candidates for playing time. If the Buckeyes have any outgoing transfers at cornerback, however, they could need to add a CB for depth after signing only two 2025 CBs with the signing-day flip of Na’eem Offord to Oregon.
Running Back
Like at cornerback, whether Ohio State needs a transfer at this position will depend on whether its Ole Miss transfer leaves early for the draft. James Peoples should be ready to be Ohio State’s No. 2 running back next season, while Sam Williams-Dixon and the incoming freshman trio of Bo Jackson, Anthony “Turbo” Rogers and Isaiah West give the Buckeyes plenty of RB depth. If Quinshon Judkins goes pro, however, Ohio State would want to add a veteran running back rather than leaning entirely on an inexperienced group of first- and second-year players.
Linebacker
This is another position where Ohio State’s need for a transfer depends largely on an NFL draft decision. If Sonny Styles stays for his senior year, Arvell Reese likely joins him in next year’s starting lineup. Payton Pierce or Hicks (if he stays at linebacker) will likely be the top backup while Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford are both candidates to push for a spot on the two-deep as a freshman. If Styles leaves or anyone else joins Gabe Powers in the transfer portal, however, Ohio State’s linebacker numbers would be thinner than desired.
Tight End
Assuming Gee Scott Jr. and Patrick Gurd are the only tight ends who leave after this season, Ohio State will have a solid core of returning tight ends in Will Kacmarek, Jelani Thurman, Bennett Christian and Max LeBlanc joined by a quality freshman tandem in Nate Roberts and Brody Lennon. That said, the Buckeyes need more production out of this position than they’ve gotten this year, so they should still keep an eye out for potential difference-makers – whether that be in receiving or blocking – who can elevate this unit.
Safety
With Caleb Downs still a year away from being draft-eligible, safety isn’t the major transfer need this offseason that it was for Ohio State last offseason. Jaylen McClain looks like a strong candidate to replace Lathan Ransom at strong safety while Malik Hartford will also be in the mix for a bigger role. No other safeties have played defensive snaps this season, so the Buckeyes might need to add another safety for depth, especially if they lose any safeties to outgoing transfers. Incoming freshman Faheem Delane has the talent to contribute early, though, and the Buckeyes are also high on the upside of redshirt freshman Leroy Roker III.
Quarterback
Whether Ohio State pursues a transfer quarterback all depends on whether Devin Brown, Lincoln Kienholz and Air Noland choose to stay in Columbus. If two or more of them leave, Ohio State would look to add another quarterback for depth. Julian Sayin is the expected frontrunner to start at quarterback next season while five-star freshman Tavien St. Clair should challenge for a spot on the two-deep right away, but the Buckeyes want to have four scholarship quarterbacks.
Wide Receiver
Brian Hartline has never added a scholarship transfer to his unit, and he probably doesn’t need to this year either if he doesn’t want to. Brandon Inniss should replace Emeka Egbuka in next year’s starting lineup, while Mylan Graham should see much more playing time next season after a redshirt year. Even with Jayden Ballard and Kojo Antwi already in the portal, Ohio State has the numbers it needs at receiver with four freshmen coming in, though adding a veteran to bolster the depth of the rotation wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Punter
Joe McGuire had his ups and downs in his first year as Ohio State’s punter, so the Buckeyes could look to add another punter to challenge him for the starting job next year. They already did that last year by signing Nick McLarty from Australia and adding Buffalo transfer Anthony Venneri, though, so they could simply reopen the competition between those three with McLarty’s big leg giving him the upside to be a weapon at the position if he can become more consistent.
