The Ohio State football program has done a relatively good job managing the Transfer Portal under Ryan Day. Day has had very few misses in the portal, save for this season, and has been able to add several big contributors. Last season was a great example of that, as several guys helped them win the national championship.
What the Ohio State Buckeyes have learned is that it's very hard for them to make an impact with transfer portal recruits when they are playing so deep into the season. They had several players who had to make a transfer decision while they were on their CFP run.
Since the portal has become a thing, there have been two different windows to utilize. New rules have come into effect that will allow only one transfer portal window. These new rules could not be worse news for the Buckeyes because of where the window sits on the calendar.
The new transfer portal rules are a big disadvantage for the Ohio State football program
The NCAA Oversight Committee has voted to support a single transfer portal window for college football instead of the two that currently exist. A formal change is still necessary, but all signs point to there being a single 10-day transfer portal window from January 2-11.
That window could not be a worse time for the Buckeyes. They are expecting to be playing that deep into the season most years. They did last year, not finishing the season until the end of January when they won the national championship. This new window can create a massive disadvantage for them.
With this being the only window, teams that are worse than Ohio State would be in a better position to land key players from the Transfer Portal. Ohio State would be late in landing transfers, which was clearly an issue for them this season. They didn't land anyone until the Spring window.
Day is going to have to figure out how to better balance game-planning for teams he's still playing against, along with the portal. It's a delicate balance that comes along with success, and the Buckeyes won't be the only team to have to deal with this.
The Ohio State football program will have to learn the best practices to dominate this new portal window. If they recruit high school players better than they have in the 2026 class, then they won't have to navigate the portal as much.