Ohio State Trade

The Winter transfer portal window for the 2024 season has ended, and the offseason is well underway. Nine incoming transfers committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes prior to the 2023 campaign. A few gamers immediately volunteered and made a contribution. Some had to use special teams to get onto the field.

It appears that Ryan Day prioritizes quality over number when it comes to the transfer portal. Compared to the 2024 cycle, the 2023 cycle was less striking. Still, Ohio State was able to enlist a few players to assist the program.

The Immediate Effect of the Ohio State Incoming Transfers in 2023: The Positive
A program should ideally look to acquire a player who can take the field and contribute right away when it uses the Transfer Portal. Ohio State discovered two athletes who, for better or worse, accomplished just that.

Let’s start with the positive. The 2023 Buckeye defense was immediately impacted by Davison Igbinosun. The defensive back, who played for Ole Miss, was a Freshman All-American before joining Ohio State. He had big expectations, of course. In 2023, he was even more valuable to the Buckeyes. Igbinosun led the defense with 769 snaps played while wearing a suit for all 13 games. Jaylahn Tuimoloau came in second closest with 673 shots.

Denzel Burke received a wonderful complement from Igbinosun. Every week, they both locked down receivers and played with ferocity. He finished third on the team with 59 tackles, which led all defensive backs. He also had two fumble recoveries and five pass breakups to his credit. Igbinosun improved throughout the year, and the Buckeyes will benefit in 2024 from his sticky play and determination to make the play. Together with Burke, the pair may rank among the top five corners available for selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Direct Effect: The Battles
Josh Simmons, who is currently struggling, was the other player in the 2023 transfer class had an early effect. Three starting offensive linemen, including two tackles, had to be replaced by Ohio State. Simmons assumed the position of left tackle and… He gave up one sack and 15 total pressures this season, according to Pro Football Focus. Simmons was able to block passes with a grade of 71.9 and runs with a grade of 65.8, although he frequently had the appearance of a matador rather than a valuable left tackle.

Simmons had several excellent games despite his problems. For instance, if you value PFF grading, he scored an 88.4 against Wisconsin. Penalties, though, were a problem. He received 17 penalties while attending San Diego State. Even though that figure dropped to eight the previous season, Day still prefers to see eight more from the man guarding his quarterback’s blind side. Given that Simmons is thought to be an athletic player, he probably has the resources to improve. He needs to improve in spring practice because one of the main problems in 2023 was the offensive line play.

Unique Team Members

Not every Ohio State transfer was able to contribute consistently to the team. The majority were seldom ever utilized at all. Day, similar to his predecessor, frequently makes use of special teams to provide inexperienced players some playing time. This method assesses a player’s commitment to the program because most athletes don’t attend Ohio State or any other major university to play on special teams. Additionally, it’s beneficial to give the younger players playing time while the veterans take a play or two off when your team has as much talent as Ohio State’s.

Out of the Buckeyes’ 2023 Transfer Portal class, long snapper John Ferlmann was the most evident special teams player. After leaving Arizona State, Ferlmann became Jesse Mirco’s go-to long snapper on the punt team. Being a long snapper has its advantages because it shows that you’re doing a good job if others don’t recognize you. Last season, he made one error. On a play that was not intended to be a fake against Maryland, Ferlmann snapped the ball to Cody Simon, the blocking up-back, in error, and the Buckeyes turned the ball over. He was good aside from that and is probably going to be the long snapper for another two years.

Moreover, Ja’Had Carter, who has 122 in-game snaps and 67 special teams snaps, might be ready for a bigger role in 2024. Carter joined from Syracuse the previous season and saw limited action at safety behind a few veteran players. Carter only managed five tackles overall. Carter might not get much playing time as long as Alabama transfer Caleb Downs, who is perhaps the finest defensive player in the country, returns with Lathan Ransom.

And lastly, another transfer cornerback was Lorenzo Styles, Jr. He was a transfer from Notre Dame and the brother of Sonny Styles. Styles played 65 special teams snaps and three defensive snaps. Interestingly enough, their father, Lorenzo Styles, Sr., was an Ohio State player in the early 1990s.

Depth Components

A few additional transfers that had little effect on the Buckeyes can be found further down the depth chart. Tywone Malone is in the lead. He came from Ole Miss to add depth to the defensive line in the interior. Against Purdue, he played 49 snaps, starting the first rotation, and recorded five tackles and half a tackle for loss. Malone made the decision not to play baseball for the Buckeyes, even though he was a member of Ole Miss’s 2023 College World Series team.

Victor Cutler, Jr., a one-and-done player for Ohio State who only played 21 snaps, joined the Buckeyes from Louisiana-Monroe. In terms of offensive line snaps, Cutler was ranked tenth on the team. It did not look good for Cutler’s future to be in line behind a true freshman on a team whose offensive line was struggling. Reentering the portal, he made his way to Louisville in 2024.