Ohio State football: Three last-minute transfer portal additions for Ryan Day
Ohio State can make their roster even more loaded with some more transfer additions.
The Ohio State football team finished the 2023 campaign with a disappointing record of 11-0 and #2 in the nation, but they were eliminated from the College Football Playoffs after losing their final regular season game and scoring only three points against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.Against Michigan, Ohio State was within a short drive from taking the victory and most likely the Big Ten, which would have guaranteed them a postseason berth. Rather, going into the 2024 season, Ryan Day’s seat is becoming a little bit warm.With three straight losses to rival Michigan, Day has his job cut out for him as the Buckeyes prepare for a huge season.
Ohio State football had dominated their rival, Michigan, up until the 2021 season. The Buckeyes hadn’t lost since 2011, but since 2021, the Wolverines have taken over the rivalry. All of this started shortly after Ryan Day took over as the head coach of Ohio State. The thing is, Day has been phenomenal against the rest of the Big Ten, and in 2022, they still made the playoff despite losing to Michigan, and they were a field goal away from likely winning a national title. Ohio State has been a very good team under Day, but right now, he has a Michigan problem, and if it doesn’t get fixed, he will not keep his job. The most important thing as the head coach of Ohio State is to beat Michigan.
Next season, that is the goal for Ohio State, and if they accomplish that, they will likely go on to the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff, particularly now that there are 12 teams participating. The Buckeyes are having a great year and appear to be fully committed to winning a national championship. They have made significant coaching changes, landed a number of great transfers with more on the horizon, and many of the players who were anticipated to travel to the NFL have returned. The Buckeyes are copying the off-season actions of Michigan. To defeat opponents and win titles is the only reason they are returning. Seeing if that works out for them will be intriguing to watch.
TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, an Ole Miss transfer, will be back in the backfield for Ohio State football in 2019. There is a chance that tandem will be the finest in college football. Will Howard, a transfer quarterback from Kansas State, was also added by the Buckeyes. With the Wildcats, Howard had his moments, but he has also had difficulties. But Ohio State will provide him with a much more potent offensive, making it much easier for him to succeed there. The Buckeyes’ quarterback situation was subpar for the first time in a long time in 2023, and it ended up hurting them a little in their most important games of the campaign. Howard might be able to remedy that, we’ll see.
On defense, Ohio State should once again have one of the best units in all of college football. Denzel Burke, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer are all coming back, and they were three of the best players on that defense this
season. This team’s defense was one of its strongest points in 2023, and it appears that they will be quite strong again the following year. They’re still keeping an eye out for some formidable transfer portal players to join them.
It appears that Ohio State football is getting ready for the 2024 campaign, and they will be a formidable opponent. Numerous important players have already returned, and they have already attracted a large number of excellent players through the transfer portal. There is still time, though, to improve the roster even further for the upcoming campaign. The Buckeyes should aim to add these players to the portal.
S Caleb Downs, Alabama
One player that Ohio State has had their eye on is Caleb Downs, who is transferring from Alabama. The Crimson Tide recently lost their legendary head coach, Nick Saban, and now a lot of their key players are entering the transfer portal. The Buckeyes have their eyes on a few of those players, and one of them is Downs. Downs is one of the best available players in the transfer portal, and he would be a huge addition to the Buckeyes defense. Plus, one of his Alabama teammates, Seth McLaughlin, already is committed to Ohio State. There could be more coming as well.
QB Julian Sayin, Alabama
WR Jameer Grimsley, Alabama
We should talk about a third transfer from Alabama since we have already talked about two. With Julian Fleming moving to Penn State and Marvin Harrison Jr. leaving for the NFL, Ohio State football has lost some quality at wide receiver. The Buckeyes may use some additional assistance at the position, and Jameer Grimsley is someone they should consider. He’s the kind of player who can get started right away, so if any of his old colleagues are headed to Ohio State, he might want to come along. There’s no doubt Ohio State ought to investigate this person. He may play well in that attack this year.
