With less than four months to go until the start of the 2025 season, college football teams still don’t know how many players they’ll be able to have on their rosters this year.
Coaches around the sport have been preparing for a limit of 105 players, a 15-player decrease from the previous limit of 120, but that roster limit might no longer go into effect in 2025. While it’s still expected that the House v. NCAA settlement that’s set to bring revenue sharing to college sports will be approved later this month, Judge Claudia Wilken said last week that she would not approve a settlement that immediately implemented roster limits resulting in athletes being cut from teams.
As such, roster limits could be phased in over a number of years rather than immediately reduced to 105 this season. But regardless of what the final roster limit for 2025 ends up being, Ohio State will still be keeping a portion of its roster open for walk-ons even though there is no longer a limit of 85 scholarship players.
Ryan Day said Tuesday that Ohio State is planning to have 90 scholarship players this season – a number not solely determined by him but by the athletic department and the university as a whole as it sets its budget for the 2025-26 academic year. Beyond that, Ohio State could have anywhere from 15 to 30 walk-ons depending on what the final roster limit ends up being.
“We're looking at increasing it to 90 (scholarship players). That's what the conversations have been. And then, it's difficult when you think it's going to be at 105 and now they're saying maybe it won't go to 105, but if it does, we better make sure we can pivot quickly,” Day said. “If the 105 cap isn’t put into play, we'll operate right around 120-121 like we've been. So those are kind of the parameters that we're working with right now, knowing we might have to pivot quickly.”
Day said Ohio State has been transparent with walk-ons who could lose their roster spots if the 105-man limit is implemented, which played a part in four Ohio State walk-ons – running back TC Caffey, wide receiver Reis Stocksdale, punter Anthony Venneri and long snapper Morrow Evans – entering the transfer portal during the spring window. Thanks to the elimination of the scholarship limit, though, Ohio State was able to retain its entire roster of scholarship players who went through spring practice while still adding players to its roster via the transfer portal.
While there were certainly players who could have chosen to enter the transfer portal after spring practice for a chance to earn more playing time elsewhere, Day views the fact that all of them chose to stay at Ohio State as a reflection of OSU’s efforts to recruit players who truly want to be Buckeyes.
“It's always important to be transparent in recruiting, but now more than ever … what you say you're going to do, you have to back up. And I think we've done that. And the other part of it is when we recruit guys now, we want guys who want to be at Ohio State,” Day said. “If we have to talk you into coming to Ohio State, if money’s the first thing you're looking for, this isn't the right place for you. And if people choose Ohio State because they want to come to Ohio State, they're more likely to stay. And so that's just a philosophy that we've had here for a long time, but now more than ever, because of the way things are. And I think guys enjoy being at Ohio State. They like being here. And so as long as they're being valued, then they're going to stay, because they know the development.”
Even with all of them staying, Ohio State currently sits at 88 scholarship players, leaving room for the Buckeyes to potentially add a couple more transfers.
The only true remaining need for Ohio State is a ready-to-play defensive tackle, as the Buckeyes’ depth behind projected starters Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston remains a major question mark. With limited options still available and the portal now closed, however, Day said the Buckeyes won’t force an addition if they can’t find the right fit, given that they already have nine defensive tackles on scholarship.
“When we bring somebody in, it has to be an upgrade to what we have. We're not just going to do it to do it,” Day said. “I think that we have looked and we're going to continue to look, but we're not just going to bring in someone just to do that, and so we'll continue to evaluate that.”
Two other possible transfer additions are former Sam Houston State offensive tackle Orion Irving and Ball State kicker Jackson Courville, both of whom visited Ohio State last week but have not yet committed to new schools. Irving, who’s also visited Syracuse, would bolster Ohio State’s offensive tackle depth while Courville would give the Buckeyes a second kicker on scholarship alongside Jayden Fielding. Both remained uncommitted as of Wednesday night.
If both of them chose to become Buckeyes and Ohio State was able to find a worthwhile addition at defensive tackle – with Oklahoma State transfer Justin Kirkland appearing to be the most logical possible option, though OSU’s level of interest in him remains uncertain – it likely could make the numbers work to do so. The 90-man scholarship number is a self-imposed target rather than an NCAA-mandated limit, and the implementation of revenue sharing could allow Ohio State to cover costs for additional players beyond those for whom it has available scholarships.
If Ohio State doesn’t end up adding two or more additional transfers, it will likely award any leftover scholarships to whoever it deems to be its most deserving walk-ons.
Ohio State’s current roster of 88 scholarship players – including the two transfers it has added so far this spring, former North Carolina defensive end Beau Atkinson and former West Virginia offensive tackle Justin Terry – can be found below.
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 (15)
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.
Justin Terry, 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 Tackles (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.
