The three most glaring needs for Ohio State football coming out of the transfer portal
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football program perhaps did better than any other program in the country when it came to utilizing the transfer portal. They added a starting quarterback, the best QB in the 2024 recruiting class, a starting offensive lineman, a starting safety who is one of the best in the country, a stud running back, and a capable tight end.
It's hard to be mad with those efforts from the Buckeyes. At least four of those transfers will see significant playing time in 2024. That's part of the reason why the Buckeyes are expected to be so highly ranked once the 2024 season starts. Not many other teams around the country have comparable talent.
Yet, there are still needs that this Ohio State football team has to address. No team is perfect, but the Buckeyes are going to try their best to get there. They can still use the portal when the Spring window opens in a few months once Spring practice starts to get going.
There are three needs that stick out as the most glaring right now. Ohio State has tried to fix one of the most glaring needs with the portal but hasn't quite done enough. We'll start there.
1. The Ohio State football team needs a fix at either tackle position
The biggest issue for the entire team this past season was the offensive line. They were inconsistent and didn't show up in the biggest games like Michigan and the Cotton Bowl. It was so bad that the quarterbacks didn't have time to go through anything past their first progression most of the time.
Ohio State did a good job by addressing the interior of the offensive line by getting Seth McLaughlin from Alabama. Whether he plays center or guard, he's a really good blocker. If he plays center, he still needs to work on getting better snaps. Either way, the Buckeyes get a better blocker than they had on the interior.
That's all well and good, but the Buckeyes have to do something about the tackle position. Neither tackle was good enough last season. Josh Simmons committed a ton of penalties and Josh Fryar got beat horribly on critical passing downs. Neither is good heading into next year.
This is the single biggest point of need for the Ohio State football team heading into the Spring. The offensive line could determine how far this team goes. Almost every other level of the team is at a championship level. They need to grab another tackle from the portal once that Spring window opens.
The next area of need is on the defensive side of the ball.