COLUMBUS — If there’s a highly-rated recruit Ohio State’s interested in, the Buckeyes generally get him.
Roster construction isn’t without problems, though. There are misses and players who choose to play elsewhere, leaving Ohio State in a bind. Mistakes and needs used to take time to fix. Not anymore.
College football now has its own home shopping network called the transfer portal, delivering products directly to the consumer for immediate use.
“You always have to look at it and be a part of it,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said in March. “I think that it’s changed. Probably even three to four years ago, it was almost taboo to talk about something like that. But that's the way things are going. So you always have to keep an eye on it.”
Since 2019, the Buckeyes have added a five-star quarterback, an All-Big Ten offensive lineman, and an Oklahoma running back. Justin Fields became a Heisman Trophy finalist, Jonah Jackson anchored one of the nation’s top offensive lines, and Trey Sermon is expected to be a playmaker for Ohio State’s offense during the fall.
When a position is thin and a need arises, the transfer portal can be a valuable instrument. And when you carry the cache Ohio State possesses, convincing players to become a Buckeye can seem effortless.
“When it first came out, I was checking it multiple times per day just to see what was going on,” OSU recruiting director Mark Pantoni said. “But nowadays, a lot of times on social media within minutes of [a player] going in there, you can almost get your information faster. But there’s obviously always roster spots where we may want to target to see if someone may go in there. And if they do, we’ll jump on it like we did with Jonah last year and with [backup quarterback] Gunnar [Hoak]. So it’s just based on position of need. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open on what we’re doing, and then we’ll just constantly check it.”
Fields zeroed in on the Buckeyes after it became apparent that Dwayne Haskins would bolt for the NFL following his record-setting 2018 season. All OSU had at quarterback was the polarizing Tate Martell and unheralded Matthew Baldwin. Martell transferred soon after Fields arrived, and Baldwin left after spring practice.
Five offensive linemen from the 2015 and 2016 classes transferred from Ohio State, creating a thin and inexperienced position as the spring of 2019 approached. Day and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa acknowledged that an issue was inevitable if the line wasn’t addressed. Enter Jackson, a Rutgers transfer who was first team All-Big Ten and a third-round NFL draft pick.
The situation at running back was even direr in March when Master Teague suffered an Achilles injury. Marcus Crowley was already out because of a knee injury, which left Ohio State with exactly one healthy scholarship running back — Steele Chambers. And he had 19 career carries.
Twenty days after Teague’s injury, Sermon committed to Ohio State.
“When Trey became available, we did a lot of research, made a lot of calls. The people at Oklahoma had such great things to say about him,” Day said. “We know, we played against him [in 2017] and we saw what he could do on the field. I mean, he’s a really good player.”
Day and the Buckeyes have expertly balanced the transfer portal and how to use it as a tool for a quick fix. The strategy has its advantages if one area of need opens and a capable player enters. Of course, coaches prefer simply recruiting someone and developing them on their own — and getting several years compared to (usually) just one.
“If it works out that way, great,” Day said. “But we try to recruit high school guys to fill those spots.”
The Ohio States and Oklahomas of the world routinely cobble up the best players in their recruiting classes, so when they add a transfer, generally someone who’s already succeeded in college, it elevates an already good team to great status.
See: Fields, Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Jalen Hurts. It helps all four are quarterbacks — by far the most important position in the sport — but the facts remain: plugging a hole via the transfer portal can be a lucrative task.
The Ohio State philosophy will continue focusing on turning elite recruits into elite college players. If a veteran enters the transfer portal, though, and the Buckeyes identify a need, bringing someone to Columbus could mean a playoff run, individual honors, and a home in the NFL.
“Mark has guys that are watching it all the time,” Day said. “The minute somebody goes in, we do our research, looking at film or finding out more about the individual.”
First Published May 6, 2020, 8:09 p.m.
