Ohio State’s coaching staff led by Ryan Day gets a break in the action following the start of the new year.
College football players across the nation officially began entering their names in the transfer portal on Jan. 2 and what followed felt like a madhouse for college football. What seemed like half of all college football players tested the waters of the transfer portal, and Ohio State, who has been active in the portal in previous years, was much more active in this year’s portal season.
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The Buckeyes saw 30 players elect to enter the transfer portal as opposed to return to play for Ohio State and Ryan Day and the coaching staff brought in 16 new Buckeyes. With the dust mostly settled, Ohio State is leaving the portal season arguably in a better position than they entered, depending on the position and who you ask.
Certainly, there were multiple former Buckeyes that Buckeye Nation would’ve loved to stick around for the 2026-27 season, but the additions appear to outweigh the losses for the most part.
On Jan. 16 the portal officially closed, meaning no new names are allowed to enter, at least in the traditional sense. However, there are still plenty of players that have not committed to their next school of choice and the Buckeyes are still looking at the portal to add extra depth pieces.
One of those transfer portal prospect the Buckeyes are looking at is former Dartmouth offensive tackle Vasean Washington. The former Big Green offensive lineman isn’t the biggest name in the portal, but he has what Ohio State has been looking at this year in the portal.
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Ohio State seems to have shifted its mindset when it comes to roster building, valuing proven talent on the field over raw talent that with time, could become the better talent. This isn’t a blanket approach, but it is a focus and Washington would bring just that to Ohio State’s offensive front.
Washington has only ever allowed one sack in more than 700 career snaps for the Big Green. The competition was obviously lesser than he would face at Ohio State, but the experience he would bring could be just as valuable.
Washington is set to visit with Ohio State Jan 23., and if the visit goes well he could be Ohio State’s final portal addition.
Ohio State offers rising safety
Ohio State isn’t only looking at the transfer portal to build its roster.
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As was mentioned above, the Buckeyes also value high school talents and the coaching staff has identified another recruit in the 2027 cycle it views would make for a future Buckeye. 2027 safety Junior James (Alabaster, AL / Thompson) received a scholarship offer from Ohio State on Monday.
James is not yet ranked in the 247Sports Class Rankings for 2027 and he also doesn’t hold a star ranking. That will certainly change come the next rankings updates if his offer list is any indication. Since the start of the year, James has received offers from the likes of Texas A&M, Florida, BYU, Alabama, Florida State and now Ohio State while already holding offers from Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Oregon West Virginia and others.
With an offer sheet like the one above, James is looking like one of the more coveted safeties in the 2027 cycle, and one Ohio State would like to have. The Buckeyes already hold nine verbal commitments in next year’s class including four-star safety Eli Johnson and three-star Angelo Smith. James would make for an excellent addition to this group.
Ohio State may have some difficulty pulling James out of SEC Country and will need to get him on campus multiple times this year if it is going to have a chance, starting with spring practices and recruiting camps. James is a name to watch for Ohio State’s class next year, especially if it is able to get him on campus in a few months.
