Ohio
Ohio State football’s transfer portal history: How past pickups have performed
The college football portal reopens to all players on Monday, allowing them to put their names in the online database in order for other schools to contact them about transferring.
A wave of movement is to follow as players are now permitted under NCAA rules to transfer multiple times with immediate eligibility as long as they remain in good academic standing.
Ohio State football portal history
The Buckeyes began using the portal soon after it went live in October 2018, picking up quarterback Justin Fields as a transfer from Georgia.
But even as the NCAA has loosened restrictions on transfers, they have remained selective.
Best Ohio State football transfer portal pickups
Ohio State has not added more than nine transfers in a cycle, and among the 18 schools in the Big Ten, only Iowa, Northwestern, Penn State and Rutgers added more last offseason, according to tracking by 247Sports.
Among the most prominent players Ohio State has acquired:
- QB Justin Fields, from Georgia.
- S Caleb Downs, from Alabama
- C Seth McLaughlin, from Alabama
- QB Will Howard, from Kansas State
- RB Quinshon Judkins, from Mississippi
- S Tanner McCalister, from Oklahoma State
- CB Davison Igbinosun, from Mississippi
- RB Trey Sermon, from Oklahoma
Notable players who left Ohio State
Kyle McCord was the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback who transferred to Syracuse last year. Jameson Williams, a starting wide receiver, left for Alabama in 2021.
What did Ohio State do last year in the transfer portal?
Ohio State signed these players in the portal last year:
- QB Will Howard, from Kansas State
- QB Julian Sayin, from Alabama
- RB Quinshon Judkins, from Mississippi
- TE Will Kacmarek, from Ohio
- C Seth McLaughlin, from Alabama
- S Caleb Downs, from Alabama
The Buckeyes lost these players in the portal last year:
- QB Kyle McCord, to Syracuse
- RB Evan Pryor, to Cincinnati
- RB Dallan Hayden, to Colorado
- RB Chip Trayanum, to Kentucky
- WR Noah Rogers, to North Carolina State
- WR Julian Fleming, to Penn State
- TE Joe Royer, to Cincinnati
- TE Sam Hart, to Colorado
- DB Cameron Martinez, to Boston College
- OL Vic Cutler, to Louisville
- OL Jakob James, to Toledo
- DT Jaden McKenzie, to East Carolina
- DE Omari Abor, to SMU
- CB Jyaire Brown, to LSU
- DB Kye Stokes, to Cincinnati
- S Ja’Had Carter, to North Carolina State
- LB Reid Carrico, to West Virginia
- DB Ryan Turner, to Boston College
- LB Nigel Glover, to Northwestern
- WR Kiyon Graves, to California
- S Cedrick Hawkins, to Central Florida
- K Parker Lewis, Arizona State
- P Jesse Mirco, to Vanderbilt
- RB Will Hartson, to Southern Illinois
When does transfer portal open?
The transfer portal opens on Monday.
How does transfer portal work?
After the portal reopens on Monday, it will not close until Dec. 28, giving players 20 days to submit a notification to transfer to their school’s compliance staff.
How long is the transfer portal open?
After the portal reopens on Monday, it will not close until Dec. 28, giving players 20 days to submit a notification to transfer to their school’s compliance staff.
There are exceptions, though.
If teams remain in the College Football Playoff or appear in a bowl game past the closing of the window, they have five days following the end of their postseason to decide whether to enter the portal.
Is there a commitment deadline?
No. The transfer windows only regulate entry into the portal. Players who enter the portal can commit to transfer to schools any time.
Must players transfer after entry?
It is not a requirement, though common. Ohio State saw 26 scholarship players enter the portal during the previous spring and winter windows, and only wide receiver Bryson Rodgers withdrew from the portal to remain with the Buckeyes.
Can they remain on the team while in the portal?
In some circumstances. Former linebacker Teradja Mitchell entered the portal weeks before the Buckeyes met Georgia in a semifinal in 2022, but he remained with them for the playoff. Most players who enter the portal move on.
Who could leave Ohio State?
At least three Ohio State players have confirmed they will enter the portal.
Wide receivers Kojo Antwi and Jayden Ballard and linebacker Gabe Powers announced their plans this week, and more are inevitable in this era of churn.
The position to watch is quarterback as the Buckeyes have a crowded room of passers even with Will Howard moving on.
With only two years of eligibility left, would backup quarterback Devin Brown leave if he is not in line to replace Howard? Or Air Noland, who was behind the other four scholarship quarterbacks on the depth?
The Buckeyes kept all five through the spring window last April, but that could prove more the exception than the rule.
How will Ohio State use the portal?
It seems certain the staff will target offensive linemen, addressing one of the biggest holes on the roster.
The Buckeyes suffered issues with depth during the regular season after center Seth McLaughlin and left tackle Josh Simmons went down with injuries.
McLaughlin was also one of three senior starters on the line, and Simmons is forgoing his remaining year of eligibility to leave for the NFL.
As right guard Tegra Tshabola projects to be the only returning starting offensive linemen from when the Buckeyes broke training camp in August, they will need to rebuild in the trenches.
Attrition is expected as well on the defensive side of the ball. Eight of the 11 starters against Michigan were seniors with expiring eligibility. The Buckeyes will need help as a result.
Special teams is a wild card. Will the Buckeyes continue to rely on kicker Jayden Fielding, who missed field goals of 34 and 38 yards against Michigan, or explore another option?
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — As concerns have grown over the impact of social media on young people, lawmakers are pushing to keep protections in tact to keep children safe online.
This week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Ohio’s law, the Social Media Parental Notification Act, requiring parental consent for children under the age of 16 to use social media must be restored. Gov. Mike DeWine signed the act into law in July 2023.
Netchoice, the trade group that represents Tik Tok, Snapchat, Meta and other tech companies contested Ohio’s law in 2024, arguing that it was overly broad, vague and represented an unconstitutional impediment to free speech.
“An unconstitutional law protects no one, and we remain focused on ensuring the First Amendment rights of Ohioans are protected,” Paul Taske, NetChoice Litigation Center Director said.
Cincinnati-based Sixth Circuit’s panel does not agree with this view point, determined that the law is not unconstitutional and had the block on the law’s enforcement vacated.
“At bottom, the Act imposes a parental consent requirement,” Judge Eric Clay wrote. “That requirement constitutes a marginal burden that precisely targets the multi-faceted problem that Ohio has identified: Children’s unsupervised assent to terms and conditions for use of platforms that take advantage of and harm them.”
The Social Media Parental Notification Act is a way to protect children’s mental health against the “intentionally addictive” nature of social media, according to U.S. senator Jon Husted.
The law requires companies to get parental permission for social media and gaming apps and to provide their privacy guidelines so families know what content would be censored or moderated on their child’s profile.
Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson says the ruling is “a win for Ohio families.”
“The court agreed that parents –- not social media companies –- should get a say in what kids see online,” he said in a statement. “We have an obligation to keep our children safe, and today, the most dangerous place for our kids is the internet. This decision gives parents the tools to be involved and provide oversight.”
LICKING COUNTY, Ohio (WCMH) — When you think of wild animals in central Ohio, a black bear likely isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. That’s why one Licking County family said they couldn’t believe their eyes.
It was an average afternoon drive home for father and son, Justin and Aaron Rhodes, when something walked into the road in front of them.
“I didn’t even think it was real at first, so that’s why I had to do the double take,” Justin said.
Aaron said he thought it was “just a weird looking dog”.
To their disbelief, it was a bear. The sighting comes just one year after the animal was spotted in Licking County for the first time in more than two decades.
“It’s kind of hard to believe that they’re even around this area,” Justin said. “I’ve lived in this area for about 24 years now, so it’s been quite a while, and I’ve never seen one before.”
These sightings are becoming more common. The Ohio Division of Wildlife said the black bear population is growing in the state, and they expect those trends to continue. Ohio saw a record number of confirmed sightings in 2025.
Lindsey Krusling, a wildlife communications specialist with the Ohio Division of Wildlife, said they are seeing more breeding females establish homes in the state, signaling the species is returning. Experts said the work restoring natural forest land is a big reason why.
“We’re starting to get some black bears coming in from neighboring states like Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky,” Krusling said. “They’re naturally crossing those state borders and coming back to Ohio because we have more of that habitat available to them, especially those forested areas.”
As the black bear population grows, the Division of Wildlife is expanding its research. They are putting radio collars on some bears they find in the state to help track data, such as if the bears are staying here, how far they’ve traveled and if they’re successfully having cubs.
“We’re trying to get quite a bit of data from these bears, and we’re super excited to see where this takes us,” Krusling said.
The research is in the beginning stages, but they expect population growth to continue, Krusling said.
Sighting reports can be submitted here to help the Division of Wildlife track black bear populations throughout the state.
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