Ohio State Football: Landing Elias Ricks looks unlikely

When the LSU cornerback Elias Ricks announced his decision to transfer, it felt like the Ohio State football team was the front-runner. Now, that may no longer be the case.

If this is the case — and it certainly appears to be true so far — this is a head-scratching decision by Ryan Day and Ohio State. The main reasoning floating around for not going after Ricks is due to the impact on the current roster.

The Buckeyes seem to foresee more Ohio State defenders transferring if OSU reeled in Ricks. Assuming this is true, this does not make a lot of sense. Ricks is a major talent and would be a part of a tremendous duo with Denzel Burke manning the other side. This would have given the Bucks a huge boost in their national title odds for next season.

Taking the transfer portal into account, of course, players will transfer out if Ricks were to come in and start immediately. But wouldn’t it be worth trying to replace backup corners if Ricks could be that good?

What makes this decision more frustrating is Ohio State had a great chance of landing Ricks. The Buckeyes came in second place during his recruitment and were rumored to be a potential spot for Ricks when he mauled over transferring last season.

As soon as Ricks officially entered the transfer portal a couple of weeks ago, OSU was named as one of his four top schools and was the perceived favorite. Ricks was even scheduled to visit Ohio State this weekend, that could not be the case anymore.

Alabama, Georgia, and USC round out Ricks’ top four. One of these three teams will now land Ricks with Ohio State out of the mix. Ricks would make Alabama and Georgia even better, and they are of course major contenders every season.

This seems like a questionable decision made by Ohio State football, but their judgment may be reasonable. Looking in from the outside, it is understandable to question the decision. Regardless, Day is still making good decisions on the defense; OSU landing Jim Knowles as their Defensive Coordinator is news to cheer about.

Where Ricks goes from here will still be something to keep an eye on. His talent could shake college football. One thing’s for sure, Ohio State football seems to be out on Ricks.