How three recent Ohio State Football transfers are doing so far
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football program is one of the most competitive in the entire country. They are typically one of the deepest teams in the country every year. That comes from superior recruiting and development of those recruits. It’s why they are national title contenders every year.
When you recruit elite players at every position every single year, there are going to be players who want to get more playing time. Four and five-star recruits don’t want to sit on the bench. That’s why Ohio State does tend to have a decent amount of transfers after the end of each year.
How well do these players typically do after leaving the Ohio State football program? There are three that left after last year that I want to focus on. All three of these players are guys who are actually playing their final college seasons of eligibility.
The first one I want to profile is actually someone the Buckeyes saw in Week 2 at the Shoe this year.
1. Marcus Hooker
It’s not often that a transfer gets to play against his old team, especially when you transfer to an FCS school. That’s exactly what Marcus Hooker got to do in Week 2 of this season. Hooker decided to transfer to Youngstown State in 2022 after four years with the Buckeyes.
In his first season with the Penguins, Hooker had 23 tackles, two passes defended, and two interceptions. He was able to start for the Penguins after losing his spot on the field with Ohio State. YSU’s first game this season was actually against the Buckeyes.
In that game, he had 6 tackles. Hooker didn’t have the best time with Ohio State. He got suspended indefinitely for two separate DUI incidents. Neither suspension ended up lasting very long, but that put the writing on the wall for him that he wasn’t going to see much playing time.
It seems that Hooker is now in a better place for himself personally as well as for his football career. He seems to enjoy being at Youngstown State. Hopefully, he can keep himself out of trouble and leave with another degree in hand. He likely won’t be playing football at the next level.
The next player on this list is someone the Buckeyes will be facing in Week 4 this year.