Ohio State Football: Adding Carter to DB room seems significant
The Ohio State football team added a starting caliber safety to its locker room this week via the transfer portal. This seems like a big deal for the Buckeyes.
The Ohio State football team added the top-ranked safety in the transfer portal, according to 247Sports. Ja’Had Carter, the former freshman All-American while playing at Syracuse, will come in and compete for a starting role right away.
This is a significant pickup for Ohio State as the secondary has been getting massacred with players transferring out. Four Buckeye defensive backs have entered the portal, including J.K. Johnson, who was expected to compete for a starting role this spring.
But Carter adds a playmaking ability that we haven’t seen in the secondary since Jeff Okudah, Shaun Wade, and Damon Arnette left for the NFL. In 28 starts at Syracuse, Carter has 138 tackles, five interceptions, two forced fumbles, and an interception returned for a touchdown.
The lack of playmaking in the back end of the Ohio State defense is one of the reasons why they haven’t played well in big games. Adding a player like Carter is a step in the right direction. The All-ACC honorable mention last season, Carter saw a major portion of his snaps in the slot covering receivers and tight ends, which is exactly what Tanner McCalister was tasked with this past season.
With McCalister and Ronnie Hickman leaving school, the Buckeyes are in desperate need of starting-caliber players in the safeties room. Even Latham Ransom, who is a junior, has the possibility of leaving for the NFL draft but I think it would serve him well to stay in Columbus for another season.
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Adding Carter and imagining the other two starting safeties being Ransom and former five-star recruit Sonny Styles, this could be the making of an excellent back end for Ohio State. Now hopefully Ryan Day and Tim Walton could add a starting corner via the portal and things should be set.