The Ohio State football program needs some help from the transfer portal. There are several positions of need that they need to fill before next season starts. Perhaps the biggest room in need of help from the portal is the offensive line. There are a lot of holes to fill up front.
There have been a few offensive line portal players who the Buckeyes have been interested in, but none were willing to commit. In fact, the Ohio State Buckeyes didn't have a single transfer portal commitment for the first week it was open. That changed on Wednesday.
Phillip Daniels, an offensive lineman who entered the portal from Minnesota has decided to commit to Ohio State. He is the first player from the transfer portal to commit to the Buckeyes this season. He is a tackle who was considered a four-star transfer prospect.
The Ohio State football team gets a transfer portal commitment on the offensive line
Daniels stands at 6'5 and 315 pounds, so he's a little shorter than some tackles. He is from the class of 2023, so he still has a couple of years of eligibility left. While he was with the Golden Gophers, he started the final four games of the season at right tackle.
There is room for growth with Daniels. He allowed some pressures in those four games in which he was a starter, but he also was thrust into the lineup against Big Ten teams. He didn't get to play a weaker non-conference team to get himself acclimated to the collegiate level.
There's a pretty good shot that Daniels ends up starting at tackle next season. It could be at either tackle spot, depending on who else the Buckeyes are able to grab from the portal. This is a good start for them, but they still have a lot of work to do before the portal closes.