Ohio State football abstained from transfer portal quarterback market as its coach got ‘fired up’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The transfer portal quarterback dominoes keep falling, and Ohio State football seems content to watch it play out from afar.

Former Texas quarterback Maalik Murphy became the latest to find a new program when he committed to Duke over the weekend. He joins a list of notable quarterbacks which includes Toledo’s Dequan Finn (Baylor), Georgia’s Brock Vandagriff (Kentucky), UCLA’s Dante Moore (Oregon), Oklahoma’s Dillon Gabriel (also Oregon) and Duke’s Riley Leonard (Notre Dame).

Former Buckeye starting Kyle McCord also makes the list after his transfer commitment to Syracuse. His departure sparked speculation that coach Ryan Day would need to explore the portal for quarterback help.

So far, all of those touted quarterbacks keep finding destinations without even scheduling a visit to Columbus. Last week, Day indicated he has found no candidates in the portal who would clearly upgrade over the coming competition between Devin Brown — who will start against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl on Friday — true freshman Lincoln Kienholz and incoming five-star prospect Air Noland.

“I think that competition is very, very healthy,” Day said. “I think Lincoln’s really been coming on and looked good. We’re excited to see Air get going here the spring.

“But, fired up to see the way Devin’s been practicing the last few weeks. It’s been great for him, now that he’s healthy. His ankle was feeling better and it was kind of like, OK, take this thing and run and see how the next couple of weeks go in terms of the way he handles himself.”

Day’s enthusiasm for those players may not be the only reason why transfer QBs have stayed away.

In McCord, we already saw one example of a quarterback with one year of eligibility remaining who left when he was not assured the 2024 starting job over those three. Day would need to make a similar concession to any starting-caliber QB coming in via the portal.

The best sign for OSU’s 2024 quarterback performance is Day coming to this conclusion after watching Brown in several bowl prep practices. As he prepares for his first career start — against a top-10 team from the SEC, no less — he holds some control over whether Day decides to make this a four-man evaluation in the spring, or roll with the options he has.