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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 cgay@dispatch.com 

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