Over the last few years, Ryan Day has used the Transfer Portal to supplement the roster of his Ohio State football team. He has made it clear that the Buckeyes will be using the portal only to fill in holes as opposed to a main tool to build the roster. That is his philosophy on how to build a team.
Every year, the Ohio State Buckeyes have some portal players who become massive parts of the success of the team. This year, Ohio State added more players from the portal than normal. Part of that is because they lost over 30 players to the portal, which is way more than they have in years past.
Plenty of new Buckeyes are getting hype for what they can bring to the table. That's great, as they certainly deserve it. Most of the transfers are on the defensive side of the ball. There's one who deserves to be getting a little bit more love than he seems to be getting.
New Ohio State linebacker Christian Alliegro needs more love
Christian Alliegro, a transfer from Wisconsin, needs to be getting more love. He isn't the flashiest portal player that Ohio State landed this offseason, but he's one of the best. After losing both starting linebackers to the top 10 of the NFL Draft, Alliegro's experience is desperately needed.
While he was with the Badgers, Alliegro had 49 tackles last year while only playing in 10 games due to injury. The year prior, he had 66 tackles. Simply put, he's someone who is productive with both stopping the run and the pass. He can be a three-down linebacker.
During spring practice, Alliegro was already running with the starters. It's clear that Matt Patricia likes what he can do as a linebacker with experience. That is something the Buckeyes need with both Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles gone. That's why he needs to be getting more love.
Don't expect Ohio State's defense to slip this season
Despite all of the talent that has moved on, don't expect the Buckeyes to have slippage on the defensive end of the field. With Patricia still calling plays, and with it being his second year, the players remaining will feel more comfortable in his system. Not just that, but the talent from the portal should help.
Alliegro will be a starter next season. The defensive line will see a few transfers start. In the secondary, there could be as many as three transfer portal players who see a significant number of snaps this season. The key thing is that all of these players are talented.
Leading most statistical categories last season will be a tough act to follow. Still, it seems that Patricia can clearly still coach the defensive side of the ball. Bringing him back should give Ohio State fans confidence that the defense won't see much difference in terms of quality of play.
Ohio State is going to be one of the best teams in the country yet again.
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