Top center in the transfer portal says he's interested in Ohio State football

Once players begin entering the transfer portal, you see a ton of reports on which schools are contacting them. But it is not very often you hear a player openly talk about a school that interests him. In the case of one of the top centers in the portal, that’s exactly what happened, and Ohio State is the school he talked about.

Braelin Moore is a multi-year starter for Virginia Tech. He played guard in 2023, but moved to center for this season and feels it is his best position. During a conversation with Bucknuts, he said if Ohio State reaches out to him, he will be interested.

For the 2025 season, the Buckeyes look like they’re going to have a bit of depth at the center position. Carson Hinzman, last year’s starter who also replaced the injured Seth McLaughlin this season, is considered the favorite to win the job again, Plus, all reports indicate backup Josh Padilla has made significant progress throughout this season. So, why would they want to bring in Moore?

The answer to that is quite simple. He’s not just one of the top-rated centers in the portal, he’s one of the top linemen overall. Right now, the Buckeyes are heavily pursuing former Northwestern guard Josh Thompson, who is considered one of the jewels in the group of linemen who are available in the transfer portal. Moore is rated above him.

Any program can use a guy like Moore, but I don’t think he’s a frontrunner to join the Buckeyes right now simply because of numbers. Most firmly believe Ryan Day and offensive line coach Justin Frye are looking to add as few as two and as many as four transfer linemen.

It’s quite well-known they are looking for a couple of starting-quality tackles. Although Thompson is a guard, the coaching staff saw firsthand what he is capable of when he had such a good game against the Buckeyes. He’s too good to pass up. That would be a total of three from the portal.

If another lineman is added, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is a backup tackle. That leaves no room for Moore. However, like Thompson, Moore might be too good to pass up, especially since he has interest in the Buckeyes.

Between the amount of players entering the transfer portal and the impact of NIL money on recruiting, Buckeye fans better hang on tight because this is going to be a wild ride.