Transfer Tracker: Breaking down Buckeyes portal moves, philosophy in spring window
COLUMBUS — The spring transfer window is open. And, now that spring practice is over for Ohio State, attention has turned to the portal: which current Buckeyes players will leave, and which transfers, if any, will head coach Ryan Day and his staff take?
Ohio State, historically, hasn’t been very active in the transfer portal. Day has wanted to build the program through high school recruiting. After all, the program has the pedigree and resources to do that effectively, and Day has followed suit with a top-five recruiting class every year he’s been at the helm.
It’s not that Day has neglected the portal. In fact, it was quarterback Justin Fields and running back Trey Sermon, transfers from Georgia and Oklahoma respectively, who helped the Buckeyes reach the national title game during the 2020 season. It’s just that Day and his staff are highly selective in the portal.
That said, while the Buckeyes are still looking for culture fits, they have been more willing to pull in transfers this offseason. Ohio State brought aboard seven in the first window: Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter, Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun, Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia, Louisiana-Monroe offensive lineman Victor Cutler Jr., Arizona State long snapper John Ferlmann, Kent State kicker Casey Magyar and Ashland defensive lineman Landon Smith.
So what positions could Ohio State address in the April transfer window? The offensive line comes to mind first. The Buckeyes are replacing three starters up front, all of whom will hear their names called in this month’s NFL Draft. Ohio State has been trying to fill holes at center and both tackle spots.
Starters have yet to be named for those three positions. Carson Hinzman seems to be the front runner at center, and, although Josh Fryar struggled in the spring game, the Buckeyes staff appears to have confidence in him at left tackle. Right tackle, however, is the biggest question mark. Zen Michalski and Tegra Tshabola took turns there with the ones throughout spring, but both had their issues.
Toward the end of spring ball, Day was asked about the idea of turning to the portal for offensive linemen.
“I think that’s a conversation to have,” he said. “But we gotta kind of go through and see how the [spring] game plays out, see how that looks on film, take the body of work, and then make some decisions from there. But you know we’ll kind of have those conversations and see where we’re at. It’s a delicate situation, for sure. I think we believe in the guys that we have. Otherwise, we’d say, yeah, we gotta bring in a guy.”
Day continued: “I think we believe in the guys. We know that they can do it. We’re looking for more consistency. I mean, I think if I if you rewind it a year from now, and I was sitting up here and we were asking about Paris [Johnson Jr.] at left tackle, I’d be concerned. I was. He came a long way. And so I know these guys can as well. Justin [Frye] does a great job teaching technique. But they’re gonna have to do that here in the next couple months.”
Day explained that, when evaluating a position of concern, you have to determine if it’s the byproduct of lack of reps, poor coaching, ineffective scheme or a disparity in talent.
Naturally, if it’s the latter, then the portal becomes an option. We’ll see if Ohio State follows that path, either at offensive line or another position.
Ohio State players in the Transfer Portal
Below is a running list of Ohio State players in the Transfer Portal:
Fourth-year place kicker Jake Seibert: Seibert saw limited action in his three seasons as a backup kicker at Ohio State. Most notably, Seibert kicked a field goal for the Buckeyes in their national title game loss to Alabama during the COVID-19 shortened season. He made 16 extra points that year, his freshman season. But Seibert lost the kicking battle to Noah Ruggles, a UNC transfer, ahead of the 2021 season. Following Ruggles’ graduation, Seibert was once again in play for the starting job this offseason. Except, during the spring game, he wasn’t one of the two Ohio State kickers to attempt a field goal. Seibert was originally the No. 2 overall kicker in the 2020 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking.
READ: Ohio State kicker Jake Seibert enters transfer portal
The Transfer Portal Windows
The NCAA Transfer Portal’s newest rules will allow 60 days per year for student-athletes to enter the portal and maintain immediate eligibility for first-time transfers. For fall sports like football, the window will be split into two periods. The first, a 45-day period, began Dec. 5. It will close on Jan. 19.
A second window is now in play from April 15-30, giving players an option to enter the transfer portal after spring practice concludes.
Transfer Portal Guidelines
The NCAA transfer portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.
Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.
The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.
A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.
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