The final opportunity for players to enter the transfer portal this offseason came and went without Ohio State losing a single scholarship player.
The 10-day spring window for players to enter the portal closed when the clock struck midnight Saturday morning, and Ohio State didn’t lose a single scholarship player during that timeframe. The only Buckeyes who entered the portal during the spring window were a quartet of walk-ons who were unlikely to see playing time in 2025: running back TC Caffey, wide receiver Reis Stocksdale, punter Anthony Venneri and long snapper Morrow Evans.
There weren’t any glaringly obvious candidates to enter the portal among Ohio State’s scholarship players who remained with the team for spring practice. Still, there were certainly Buckeyes with players in front of them on the depth chart who could have chosen to enter the portal for the opportunity to play more elsewhere. The fact that no scholarship players at all chose to transfer speaks to the strong brotherhood within Ryan Day’s program that players want to remain a part of.
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— Jermaine Mathews Jr (@Jr2Maine) April 18, 2025
Retention has always been one of Day’s biggest roster-building priorities, and Ohio State couldn’t have done a much better job of keeping its roster intact this offseason. Including the first transfer window in December and January, Ohio State lost just 13 scholarship players to the transfer portal, and none of them were projected starters this year. The only one of those players who was in line to play a substantial role this year was Hero Kanu, who would likely be on Ohio State’s defensive tackle two-deep if he hadn’t transferred to Texas.
Excluding those who entered the NFL draft, Ohio State was able to retain all of its key players even though it had to fend off poaching efforts from other schools during the five-day transfer window that was open to only Ohio State and Notre Dame players after the national championship game.
“The portal opened and closed before we were done with our last game. Then it was open for five days after the national championship game. I know no one feels bad for us, but the whole country got to pick off our players,” Day said after the spring game.
In past offseasons, Ohio State might have actually wanted a little more roster attrition to open up scholarships for transfer additions. That’s not as much of a concern this year, however, now that the 85-man scholarship limit is going away. Ohio State was expecting to have to trim its roster down to 105 total players this year, but it appears that roster limit won’t go into effect yet after Judge Claudia Wilken told the NCAA this week that she would not approve the House v. NCAA settlement if it immediately implemented roster limits that would force teams to cut players.
Given that, Ohio State could still add more transfers to its 2025 roster even though it already has 87 players on scholarship, including recently added North Carolina transfer defensive end Beau Atkinson. Ohio State has hosted several other potential transfer additions on visits this week including Georgia Southern defensive tackle Troy Pikes, Purdue offensive lineman Jaden Ball, Sam Houston State offensive tackle Orion Irving and Ball State kicker Jackson Courville.
As of Saturday morning, here’s how Ohio State’s current roster of scholarship players stacks up at every position:
Quarterbacks (3)
Lincoln Kienholz, RS So.
Julian Sayin, RS Fr.
Tavien St. Clair, Fr.
Running Backs (6)
CJ Donaldson, Sr.
James Peoples, So.
Sam Williams-Dixon, RS Fr.
Bo Jackson, Fr.
Anthony “Turbo” Rogers, Fr.
Isaiah West, Fr.
Wide Receivers (11)
David Adolph, RS Jr.
Brandon Inniss, Jr.
Carnell Tate, Jr.
Bryson Rodgers, RS So.
Jeremiah Smith, So.
Mylan Graham, RS Fr.
Damarion Witten, RS Fr.
Phillip Bell, Fr.
De’zie Jones, Fr.
Bodpegn Miller, Fr.
Quincy Porter, Fr.
Tight Ends (7)
Will Kacmarek, RS Sr.
Bennett Christian, RS Jr.
Max Klare, RS Jr.
Jelani Thurman, RS So.
Max LeBlanc, RS Fr.
Brody Lennon, Fr.
Nate Roberts, Fr.
Offensive Linemen (14)
Ethan Onianwa, RS Sr.
Carson Hinzman, RS Jr.
Tegra Tshabola, RS Jr.
Luke Montgomery, Jr.
Phillip Daniels, RS So.
Joshua Padilla, RS So.
Austin Siereveld, RS So.
Deontae Armstrong, RS Fr.
Devontae Armstrong, RS Fr.
Ian Moore, RS Fr.
Gabe VanSickle, RS Fr.
Jake Cook, Fr.
Carter Lowe, Fr.
Jayvon McFadden, Fr.
Defensive Ends (9)
Caden Curry, Sr.
C.J. Hicks, Sr.
Beau Atkinson, RS Jr.
Kenyatta Jackson, RS Jr.
Logan George, Jr.
Joshua Mickens, RS So.
Dominic Kirks, RS Fr.
Zion Grady, Fr.
Epi Sitanilei, Fr.
Defensive Tackle (9)
Tywone Malone, RS Sr.
Kayden McDonald, Jr.
Jason Moore, RS So.
Will Smith Jr., RS So.
Eddrick Houston, So.
Eric Mensah, RS Fr.
Jarquez Carter, Fr.
Trajen Odom, Fr.
Maxwell Roy, Fr.
Linebackers (8)
Sonny Styles, Sr.
Ty Howard, RS Jr.
Arvell Reese, Jr.
Payton Pierce, So.
Garrett Stover, RS Fr.
TJ Alford, Fr.
Eli Lee, Fr.
Riley Pettijohn, Fr.
Cornerbacks (8)
Lorenzo Styles Jr.. RS Sr.
Davison Igbinosun, Sr.
Jermaine Mathews Jr., Jr.
Aaron Scott Jr., So,
Bryce West, RS Fr.
Miles Lockhart, RS Fr.
Devin Sanchez, Fr.
Jordyn Woods, Fr.
Safeties (8)
Keenan Nelson Jr., RS Jr.
Caleb Downs, Jr.
Malik Hartford, Jr.
Jaylen McClain, So.
Leroy Roker III, RS Fr.
Faheem Delane, Fr.
Cody Haddad, Fr.
DeShawn Stewart, Fr.
Kickers (1)
Jayden Fielding, Sr.
Punters (2)
Joe McGuire, RS So.
Nick McLarty, RS Fr.
Long Snappers (1)
John Ferlmann, RS Sr.
