The Ohio State football program is trying to figure out the best way to navigate the NIL era of college football. They haven't figured it all out, as they still have lost some elite prospects due to compensation. The NCAA hasn't figured out a way to punish teams for NIL compensation yet.
Due to that fact, fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes believe that they should spend as much as they want because they won't be punished for it. Of course, there is still some risk of overpaying for an underperforming player, such as what happened with Ethan Onianwa.
General Manager of the Buckeyes, Mark Pantoni, is tasked with identifying talent every year. He recently gave his thoughts on NIL and how the program is navigating it. He also let fans know why the Buckeyes let some players leave in the Transfer Portal without totally naming names.
Mark Pantoni lets fans know why certain players left the Ohio State football program
While discussing NIL on The Program With Woj, Adrian Wojnaroski's podcast, Pantoni essentially let fans know why Quincy Porter is now at Notre Dame instead of Ohio State, without naming him individually.
"I think the hard part this year was the guys who just finished up year one, going into year two, who may not have played a lot, but the market has dictated maybe some potential increases they thought they deserved without a lot of production behind it. And that's where we had to make some really tough decisions."
That exact scenario is what happened with Porter. He was a five-star recruit out of high school, but he hardly ever saw the field. That is why the Buckeyes let him head off to Notre Dame. He's not the only one they decided to let that happen to. Mylan Graham hardly played in two seasons, and he left for the Fighting Irish, as well.
The Buckeyes let 30+ players leave in the portal. Pantoni understands what he has to do in order to get the right players for his program and the culture that they have built.