The Ohio State football team has lost around 25 players to the Transfer Portal in 2026. That number is far higher than any previous season. It seems that the majority of the players are leaving for more playing time, a higher payday, or both. Regardless, that leaves the Buckeyes in a pickle.
When there is a mass exodus of players, people need to look at the recruiting classes that those players are leaving from. It seems that Ryan Day and his staff had a pretty big whiff on the 2024 recruiting class by looking at the number of players who have left.
Jeremiah Smith is from the 2024 recruiting class and is an all-time talent. He is the best player on the team. Eddrick Houston, a starter at the beginning of the year before he was demoted, was the second-highest-rated player in that class. The next five guys are all gone.
The 2024 recruiting class was a big whiff for the Ohio State football program
After Houston, the next highest-rated players are Aaron Scott, Mylan Graham, Air Noland, James Peoples, and Bryce West. Four of them left this year in the portal. Noland has already transferred twice in his collegiate career. That's not a good hit rate for a class.
The Ohio State Buckeyes had 22 commits in that class, and it was ranked as the fourth-best class in the country. Of those 22 commits, 11 of them have no left the program. Half of that class is gone, which means that Ryan Day needs to take a look at his talent evaluation.
Mark Pantoni is the GM of the Buckeyes, so he deserves some criticism for this, too. The new NIL settlement has made transfers more abundant across the country, so this isn't a unique issue to Ohio State. Still, Day has to be careful to make sure this does not become a trend.
Having a higher hit rate on recruiting class is going to be necessary if the Buckeyes aren't going to be active in the Transfer Portal. Both can't fall off. If that happens, Ohio State won't be contending for titles.