The Ohio State football program has struggled to add players from the Transfer Portal in 2026. 30 players have entered the portal, but the Buckeyes haven't added the same amount of talent back. It has been mostly a struggle for Ryan Day and his staff to navigate the portal this season.
Some of the guys they have added will be solid players next season. Christian Alliegro will fight for a starting spot at the linebacker position. Devin McCuin will play significant snaps at receiver. Still, they had struck out with every truly elite prospect they had tried to add.
That changed on Sunday afternoon after eight long days of the portal being open. The Ohio State Buckeyes finally got one of the best portal prospects available by signing All-ACC safety Earl Little Jr., who is transferring from Florida State.
Ohio State football team adds All-ACC defensive back Earl Little Jr.
This will be Little Jr.'s third school in his career. He played two seasons at Alabama before transferring to Florida State last season. While with the Seminoles, he was able to earn Second Team All-ACC honors. He will help a secondary that has been decimated by the portal.
Little Jr. will be able to step in and immediately take over the starting spot that was vacated by Caleb Downs. Downs is one of the best Ohio State football players in modern history, so it will be impossible to replicate what he did. Still, Little Jr. is a pretty solid player to take his spot.
This is one of the few pieces of positive news that the Buckeyes have been able to give fans this offseason. The goal is now for them to use this little bit of momentum to keep adding players from the portal who can immediately contribute to winning next season.
Ohio State still has several holes to fill, but addressing the safety position with Little Jr. is great work by the staff.