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Who are Ohio State football’s best transfer portal additions under Ryan Day?

Published

2 years ago

January 5, 2024

Who are Ohio State football’s best transfer portal additions under Ryan Day?

Ohio State has already been active in the transfer portal ahead of the 2024 season.

After the Buckeyes’ 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State added former Ohio tight end Will Kacmarek. The Buckeyes have also reportedly hosted players such as former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin and former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard.

Since Ryan Day took over the Ohio State program in 2019, the Buckeyes have added 17 players through the transfer portal, including 10 players in the 2023 offseason.

Which transfer additions have brought the most success to Ohio State?

Here are the top five transfer additions Ohio State has made in the Day era.

5. SAF Tanner McCalister

In Jim Knowles’ first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Tanner McCalister helped the Buckeyes transition into Knowles’ new scheme.

Having played for Oklahoma State for four seasons under Knowles, McCalister found a home as a nickel safety, finishing wth 24 tackles, one pass deflection and a career-high three interceptions, including two against Iowa Oct. 22, 2022.

In McCalister’s only season at Ohio State, Knowles’ defense was one of six Big Ten defenses to allow less than five yards per play.

4. CB Davison Igbinosun

Davison Igbinosun was a plug-and-play starter in Ohio State’s secondary in 2023.

Transferring from Mississippi after one season, Igbinosun played 770 snaps for the Buckeyes in 2023 per Pro Football Focus, recording 59 tackles, five pass deflections, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and two fumble recoveries.

Facing Igbinosun, receivers recorded 36 receptions on 71 targets and five touchdowns. After allowing double-digit yards-after-catch in each of the first four games, Igbinosun limited receivers to less than 15 yards after catch in his last nine games.

Igbinosun had a season-high seven tackles in Ohio State’s 14-3 Cotton Bowl loss to Missouri.

3. RB Trey Sermon

Trey Sermon’s Ohio State career can nearly been defined by one game.

After five games where he recorded 344 rushing yards and one touchdown — including a 112-yard performance against Michigan State — Sermon, an Oklahoma transfer, nearly eclipsed that total in Ohio State’s 22-10 Big Ten championship win against Northwestern, recording 331 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries.

Sermon followed up his Big Ten championship performance with a 193-yard performance in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl against Clemson.

Sermon finished the 2020 season with 870 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

2. K Noah Ruggles

After three seasons at North Carolina, Noah Ruggles picked up where he left off in two years at Ohio State.

In two seasons as the Buckeyes’ starting kicker, Ruggles finished career fifth in Ohio State history with 37 made field goals in 41 tries, finishing his career with the highest field goal percentage in program history at 90.2%.

In 2021, Ruggles made 20 of 21 field goal tries for a 95.2% success rate: 5.2 percentage points higher than any Ohio State kicker in program history.

Ruggles also hit 148 of 149 extra point tries.

1. QB Justin Fields

Justin Fields is Day’s biggest transfer portal success story.

Transferring from Georgia prior to the 2019 season, Fields won Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020 as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, recording 5,373 passing yards, 63 touchdowns and nine interceptions with 15 rushing touchdowns.

In each of his seasons as Ohio State’s starting quarterback, Fields finished as a top-10 Heisman Trophy vote getter, finishing third in 2019.

In Fields’ two seasons at Ohio State, the Buckeyes finished with a record of 20-2, with his only losses coming to Clemson and Alabama, respectively, in the College Football Playoff.

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Remains of Ohio airmen killed in Iraq will be brought back March 29

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Remains of Ohio airmen killed in Iraq will be brought back March 29

The remains of three Ohio airmen who were killed in the crash of their KC-135 refueling plane in Iraq earlier this month will be returned this weekend, according to a family member of one of the deceased.

The airmen, identified as Master Sgt. Tyler Simmons, 28, of Columbus; Capt. Curtis Angst, 30, of Wilmington, and Capt. Seth Koval, 38, of Stoutsville, will be brought back March 29 to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base near Columbus, said Charles Simmons, Tyler’s father.

“Tyler will have a hero’s welcome, because he is a hero,” said Charles.

The Columbus Division of Police will be involved in the funeral procession when the airmen’s remains are transferred from the airport to funeral homes, said Columbus police Sgt. James Fuqua. That will take place between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. March 29, said Fuqua.

The airmen’s remains first arrived back in the U.S. on March 18 with a dignified transfer taking place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Curtis, Angst, and Simmons were members of the 166th Air Refueling Squadron connected to the 121st Air Refueling Wing based at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base in Columbus.

The airmen, as well as three other servicemembers, died on March 12 when their KC-135 tanker crashed in western Iraq during a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury in Iran. The cause of the crash, which occurred in friendly airspace, has not been publicly identified. U.S. Central Command has said the incident did not involve hostile or friendly fire, and military experts have theorized the crash may have been the result of a collision with a second KC-135 that sustained heavy damage to its tail fin but landed safely at an airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@dispatch.com.

Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.

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Thousands head to Columbus for 23rd annual Home Improvement Show at Ohio Expo Center

Published

15 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Thousands head to Columbus for 23rd annual Home Improvement Show at Ohio Expo Center

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Thousands of people are expected to head to downtown Columbus for the 23rd annual Home Improvement Show this weekend.

Organizers say visitors can find ideas for everything from small interior design projects to major renovations.

The event is being held at the Ohio Expo Center and includes seminars, exhibits and demonstrations from local and national companies.

The show begins at noon Friday and runs until 6 p.m.

It continues Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Adult tickets cost $5 at the door.

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Matt Patricia sought stability in return as Ohio State football defensive coordinator

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Matt Patricia sought stability in return as Ohio State football defensive coordinator

Matt Patricia’s contract extension earlier this offseason included a pay raise that figures to make him the highest-paid assistant coach in college football this year.

But Patricia, who will make $3.75 million in guaranteed compensation as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator in 2026, also held an appreciation for his situation.

“Ohio State is such a special place, not only just the history, the tradition, the football program, the school, but the people here,” Patricia said. “Having a chance to have a little stability with my family, it’s hard when you have to move your family around, your kids and the new school and all that.”

Before he joined Ryan Day’s staff last year, the 51-year-old Patricia had bounced around as an assistant in the NFL for much of the decade.

He spent 2021 and 2022 in a variety of roles with the New England Patriots, then a year as a defensive assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles. He took off from coaching in 2024. The frequent relocation gave him perspective.

“We had an unbelievable experience settling into Columbus,” Patricia said. “Everybody’s been so nice and welcoming. It feels like home. It’s a big deal for us to be in a place where everybody’s happy. That’s really important.”

Patricia had a significant impact on the Buckeyes in his first year replacing Jim Knowles. Despite heavy roster attrition following their national championship season, he kept the defense atop the Football Bowl Subdivision. For the second straight season, no one allowed fewer points than Ohio State.

The 9.3 points per game allowed by the Buckeyes were the fewest by any defense since Alabama in 2011.

The success made Patricia a hot commodity on the coaching market, rebuilding his reputation as a sharp and creative football mind only a decade removed from his tenure as a Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator for the Patriots. He was a finalist for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant.

Patricia said he heard about opportunities in the NFL and elsewhere across the college football landscape, though none of them would pry him away from Ohio State.

“It wasn’t necessarily something where you’re looking to leave,” Patricia said, “but you do have to listen when those things come up. I’m just glad everything worked out.”

His challenge in his second season mirrors his previous one, as the Buckeyes are again managing the loss of eight starters on defense.

But unlike 2025, they have fewer returning pieces, relying on a larger class of transfers to help fill the holes on the depth chart.

“With as much coming into the program for the first time, not only are you trying to catch them up on the football scheme, but you’re also trying to catch them up on everything else,” Patricia said. “This is how we work, this is how we do things, this is the standard we’re looking for, this is how we practice, this is how we prepare, this is how we go to school. That has to be also taught. It becomes a lot, but that’s why you bring in the right guys that have the mental makeup to do all that.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.

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