Well, the two-week transfer portal window has closed. Ohio State went into the window the same as it did after the 2023 Cotton Bowl loss. For 2026, it needed a few key pieces. Now, while the portal is closed, players currently in the portal can commit; new players cannot enter it (we will see if that holds). The Buckeyes ended up losing quite a bit, but were able to replace them.
2026 Ohio State Transfer Portal Round-Up
Departures
- QB Lincoln Kienholz (Louisville)
- RB James Peoples (Penn State)
- RB Sam Williams-Dixon (South Carolina)
- WR Mylan Graham (Notre Dame)
- WR Quincy Porter (Notre Dame)
- WR Bryson Rodgers (USF)
- WR Damarion Witten (Miami (OH))
- WR Bodpegn Miller (Washington)
- TE Jelani Thurman (North Carolina)
- OL Devontae Armstrong (Miami (OH))
- OL Isaiah Kema (Utah)
- OL Tegra Tshabola (Kentucky)
- OL Justin Terry (Virginia Tech)
- OL Jayvon McFadden (Colorado)
- DT Maxwell Roy (UCLA)
- DT Eric Mensah (Virginia Tech)
- DT Jarquez Carter (Miami (FL))
- DT Trajen Odom (Arkansas)
- DE Logan George (Washington)
- DE Dominic Kirks (Northwestern)
- DE Joshua Mickens (UCONN)
- DE/LB C.J. Hicks (USF)
- LB Ty Howard (TBD)
- CB Bryce West (Wisconsin)
- CB Aaron Scott Jr. (Oregon)
- SAF Keenan Nelson Jr. (TBD)
- SAF Malik Hartford (UCLA)
- SAF Faheem Delane (LSU)
- SAF Cody Hadaad (Iowa)
- K Jackson Courville (Tulane)
- P Nick McLarty (Arizona State)
Transfers on the Schedule
Arrivals
- QB Justyn Martin (Maryland)
- RB Ja’Kobi Jackson (Florida)
- WR Devin McCuin (UTSA)
- WR Kyle Parker (LSU)
- TE Mason Williams (Ohio)
- TE Hunter Welcing (Northwestern)
- OT Vasean Washington (Dartmouth)
- DT John Walker (UCF)
- DT James Smith (Alabama)
- DE Qua Russaw (Alabama)
- LB Christian Alliegro (Wisconsin)
- CB Dominick Kelly (Georgia)
- CB Cameron Calhoun (Alabama)
- SAF Earl Little Jr. (Florida State)
- SAF Terry Moore (Duke)
- LS Dalton Riggs (UCF)
- K Connor Hawkins (Baylor)
- P Brady Young (Houston Christian)
Immediate Help
There are a handful of new Buckeyes who will be able to step in right away and contribute. McCuin and Parker could be interesting additions to the receiver room behind Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss. The intriguing additions are on the defensive side of the ball. Walker and Smith will likely factor into the rotation on the interior with Eddrick Houston. Both safety transfers are expected to step in and have roles right away, with Moore playing safety while Little will be the nickel corner/third safety.
Perhaps the biggest additions (according to Buckeye fans) are the two special teams players. Kicker and punter have been weaknesses for the Buckeyes in the Ryan Day era. Hawkins comes to Columbus after a solid redshirt freshman campaign in 2025, where he made all 37 extra point attempts and was 18 of 22 on field goals. He made three of his four attempts from beyond 50 and has a career-long of 54 yards.
