Beau Atkinson had his sights set on playing at the highest level of college football when he entered the transfer portal, so he couldn’t turn down the opportunity to play for the defending national champions.
The former North Carolina defensive end was courted by many of the nation’s top programs when he entered the transfer portal, including Georgia and South Carolina, the runners-up in Atkinson’s re-recruitment. In the end, though, Atkinson felt playing for Ohio State and legendary defensive line coach Larry Johnson was the best option.
“I think just the level of play that everybody's here. Coach J, obviously one of the best D-line coaches of all-time. So just trying to be developed as best as I can possibly be,” Atkinson said when asked why he wanted to be a Buckeye.
Asked why he chose to leave North Carolina, Atkinson – a North Carolina native who spent three years with the Tar Heels – kept his answer short and sweet.
“I think it was just time for me to go,” Atkinson told Eleven Warriors after Friday’s Special Skills Football Invitational. “I think I just wanted to play at the highest level that I could.”
So far, Ohio State has been everything Atkinson hoped it would be.
“It's been awesome,” Atkinson said. “It's a whole nother level of football. Got a bunch of great guys and yeah, it's been great competition trying to become the best we can be.”
Atkinson already proved last year that he can be a productive defensive end at the Power 4 level, racking up 35 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks for North Carolina. But Atkinson believes he still has a lot of room to improve with Johnson’s tutelage.
“I'd probably say just bending off the edge and use of my hands. I think I can get a lot better using my hands,” Atkinson said of where he’s looking to improve at Ohio State. “I think a lot of times, my rushes, I would win because of just my effort. But I think Coach J is so good with the technical skills of everything that just improving that side of my game even more, I'm excited for that.”
As much as Atkinson wanted to learn from Johnson as a football player, Atkinson says playing for Johnson also appealed to him because of who Johnson is as a person.
“Honestly, my favorite part of Coach J is just the man that he is,” Atkinson said. “He's a super strong Christian dude, and just teaching all these young people how to become the best people that they possibly can. I just respect him a lot.”
Seeing Ohio State’s players put their faith on display during their national championship run last season was another reason why becoming a Buckeye appealed to him.
“That was huge. My faith is a huge part of who I am, and especially seeing everything that they were able to do last year, that was definitely very influential for me,” Atkinson said.
“I just wanted to play at the highest level that I could.”– Beau Atkinson on transferring from North Carolina to Ohio State
As a summer enrollee, Atkinson has had to get up to speed quickly to prepare for preseason camp. But Atkinson says that hasn’t been difficult with the way Ohio State has welcomed him in.
“From the football side of it, football is football. It's just different names for different things. So that hasn't been too bad,” Atkinson said. “But all the guys have been super welcoming. I love all the guys here. And they are all pushing me to become a new level.”
That transition’s been made a bit easier by the fact that Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, previously worked with new North Carolina head coach Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots, even though Atkinson was only coached by Belichick for a few months.
“There's a little bit of a carryover in some schematic things, so that has been pretty cool being able to already know some stuff even though I wasn't here for the spring,” Atkinson said. “But I love Coach Patricia a lot. He's a great dude. And I'm very excited for the season.”
Atkinson says he “can’t wait” for his first game in Ohio Stadium when the Buckeyes host Texas in their season opener in six weeks.
“I’m so excited,” Atkinson said. “It's going to be awesome.”
Given his track record of production at UNC, Atkinson – who has two remaining years of eligibility – is expected to play a leading role in Ohio State’s 2025 defensive end rotation, which will also feature Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry, C.J. Hicks and fellow transfer addition Logan George.
Atkinson hopes his effort stands out to Ohio State fans when they see him play for the first time.
“I hope they say that I'm a relentless, super hard-working guy that knows a lot about the game and is getting after it,” Atkinson said.
Atkinson’s effort has already stood out to his new Ohio State teammates as they’ve gone through summer workouts.
“I love Beau,” said defensive tackle Eddrick Houston. “I love everybody that came in, but Beau is one that just put his head down and just listens to everything so he can get in tune with the program, but at the same time he's grinding every day.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day expects Atkinson to be a great fit in the Buckeyes’ defense this fall.
“Very excited about adding Beau … We think that he's a great addition to the room. Somebody who has experience, has some real size and he's excited about being at Ohio State,” Day said. “Beau made it very clear that he wanted to play at the highest level. He hit it off with Larry, with Coach Patricia, so I think it'll be a great addition to our room.”
