Transfer portal · 2026
Ohio State Buckeyes
Both windowsProjected two-deep impacti
+15
Projected two-deep roles added · 2026 arrivals
Ohio State added 15 transfers projected into the two-deep (7 as starters) against 37 departures whose next roles aren’t tracked here. Every number on this page is counted, not modelled — no composite portal grade is published because no defensible one exists yet.
18
Arrivals
-19
37
Departures
0.89
Avg rating in
+0.02
0.87
Avg rating out
15
Proj two-deep in
—
—
Out roles untracked
13 of 18
’25 production in
—
19 of 37
’25 production out
How the roster changed
55 moves · 13 rooms touchediOffense-10 net players
Replaced—
TE
+1 in · −1 out
InOut
Hunter Welcing in from Northwestern drives the room.
Depth concern-1 player
RB
+1 in · −2 out
InOut
Ja'Kobi Jackson in from Florida drives the room.
Depth concern-1 player
QB
+1 in · −2 out
InOut
?
Lincoln Kienholz out to Louisville drives the room.
Depth concern-4 players
WR
+2 in · −6 out
InOut
Devin McCuin in from UTSA drives the room.
Depth concern-4 players
OL
+1 in · −5 out
InOut
Tegra Tshabola out to Kentucky drives the room.
Defense-10 net players
Upgraded+1 player
LB
+1 in · −0 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
No departures
Christian Alliegro in from Wisconsin drives the room.
Upgraded-1 player
CB
+3 in · −4 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Earl Little Jr. in from Florida State drives the room.
Depth concern-3 players
EDGE
+1 in · −4 out
InOut
Qua Russaw in from Alabama drives the room.
Depth concern-3 players
DL
+2 in · −5 out · 2 proj starters in
InOut
James Smith in from Alabama drives the room.
Depth concern-4 players
S
+1 in · −5 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
?
Terry Moore in from Duke drives the room.
Specialists+1 net players
Upgraded+1 player
LS
+2 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
G
Dalton Riggs in from UCF drives the room.
Upgraded—
K
+1 in · −1 out · 1 proj starter in
InOut
Connor Hawkins in from Baylor drives the room.
Replaced—
P
+1 in · −1 out
InOut
P
Brady Young in from Perrysburg / Cincinnati / Houston Christian drives the room.
ArrivalDepartureHeavy ring · proj starter inThin ring · rotation inDotted · depth role or no ’25 recordMarker size = ’25 usage share (smallest = none recorded)
Did Ohio State replace what it lost?
Role slots, not player-for-playerReplaced6 chains
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Virginia Tech
Eric Mensah
rating 0.86 · 2 tkl
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Alabama
James Smith
rating 0.94 · 26 tkl · 6.5 TFL · 2.5 sk · dt1 starter
Jan 13
▾ Detail
DL
Starting slot
Out · to Miami
Jarquez Carter
rating 0.87 · 1 tkl
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from UCF
John Walker
rating 0.87 · 31 tkl · 2.5 TFL · 1 sk · nt1 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
CB
Starting slot
Out · to Oregon
Aaron Scott Jr.
rating 0.88 · 9 tkl · 1 TFL
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Florida State
Earl Little Jr.
rating 0.93 · 76 tkl · 2 TFL · 4 INT · nb1 starter
Jan 11
▾ Detail
S
Starting slot
Out · to LSU
Faheem Delane
rating 0.90 · 12 tkl · 1 TFL
Replaced
Medium confidence
In · from Duke
Terry Moore
rating 0.94 · fs1 starter
Jan 12
▾ Detail
K
Starting slot
Out · to Tulane
Jackson Courville
0/0 FG · 4 pts
Upgrade
High confidence
In · from Baylor
Connor Hawkins
rating 0.84 · 18/22 FG · 91 pts · pk1 starter
Jan 14
▾ Detail
LS
Starting slot
Out · to Massachusetts
Grant Mills
no ’25 production record
Replaced
Low confidence
In · from UCF
Dalton Riggs
no ’25 production record · ls1 starter
Jan 6
▾ Detail
Partially replaced6 chains
WR
Rotation slot
Out · to Notre Dame
Mylan Graham
rating 0.91 · 4% ’25 usage · 6 rec · 93 yds
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from LSU
Kyle Parker
rating 0.87 · 5% ’25 usage · 31 rec · 330 yds · 4 TD · sl2 rotation
Jan 16
▾ Detail
WR
Rotation slot
Out · to South Florida
Bryson Rodgers
rating 0.86 · 4% ’25 usage · 6 rec · 79 yds · 1 TD
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from UTSA
Devin McCuin
rating 0.86 · 11% ’25 usage · 65 rec · 726 yds · 8 TD · z2 rotation
Jan 7
▾ Detail
TE
Rotation slot
Out · to North Carolina
Jelani Thurman
rating 0.89 · 2% ’25 usage · 7 rec · 84 yds · 1 TD
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Northwestern
Hunter Welcing
rating 0.91 · 5% ’25 usage · 28 rec · 296 yds · 2 TD · te2 rotation
Jan 12
▾ Detail
EDGE
Rotation slot
Out · to South Florida
C.J. Hicks
rating 0.87 · 6 tkl · 1 TFL
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Alabama
Qua Russaw
rating 0.93 · 13 tkl · 1 TFL · 1 sk · rde2 rotation
Jan 13
▾ Detail
CB
Rotation slot
Out · to Wisconsin
Bryce West
rating 0.86 · 9 tkl
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Georgia
Dominick Kelly
rating 0.90 · 3 tkl · 3 PD · rcb2 rotation
Jan 14
▾ Detail
P
Rotation slot
Out · to Arizona State
Nick McLarty
1 punts · 45 yd avg
Partial replacement
Medium confidence
In · from Perrysburg / Cincinnati / Houston Christian
P
Brady Young
no ’25 production record · pt2 rotation
—
▾ Detail
Not replaced5 chains
QB
Production lost
Out · to Louisville
Lincoln Kienholz
rating 0.89 · 7% ’25 usage · 11/14 · 139 pass yds · 1 TD · 0 INT
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No starter/rotation addition
1 depth arrival in room
Jan 4
▾ Detail
RB
Production lost
Out · to Penn State
James Peoples
rating 0.88 · 10% ’25 usage · 344 rush yds · 5.6 ypc · 3 TD · 10 rec
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No starter/rotation addition
1 depth arrival in room · 2 producing losses unanswered
Jan 7
▾ Detail
WR
Production lost
Out · to Notre Dame
Quincy Porter
rating 0.94 · 2% ’25 usage · 4 rec · 59 yds
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
2 two-deep arrivals answer other losses
Jan 12
▾ Detail
EDGE
Production lost
Out · to UConn
Joshua Mickens
rating 0.86 · 3 tkl
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses · 3 producing losses unanswered
Jan 13
▾ Detail
S
Production lost
Out · to UCLA
Malik Hartford
rating 0.86 · 2 tkl
Unresolved
Room restocked · slot open
In
No further two-deep addition
1 two-deep arrival answers other losses
Jan 14
▾ Detail
Quality vs experience
Portal rating
0.750.800.850.900.951.00
No ’25 usage recordHigh-upside betProven impactDevelopmentalExperienced depthJacksonMoore
0%20%40%60%
’25 usage share of previous team’s snapsets
11 unrated moves not plotted — see the ledger
How much Ohio State depends on transfers
Projected 2026 two-deep · 54 slotsQuarterback0%
2
Skill (RB/WR/TE)30%
7
3
Offensive line10%
9
1
Front seven (EDGE/DL/LB)42%
7
1
4
Secondary (CB/S)40%
6
4
Specialists50%
5
5
Returning signeesPrior-cycle transfers2026 transfers
33%
Projected two-deep from transfers
18 of 54 two-deep slots
10 of 28
Projected starters from transfers
8 from the 2026 cycle, 2 held over
24th
Big Ten percentile · transfer share
14th-most transfer-dependent two-deep of 18 Big Ten teams
Returning portal corePrior-cycle transfers still in the two-deep
Phillip Daniels
OL · from Minnesota · 2025 cycle · RT1 starter
—
no ’25 record
Beau Atkinson
EDGE · from North Carolina · 2025 cycle · RDE1 starter
11 tkl
’25 · Ohio State
Where Ohio State’s transfers came from — and where they went
Sources · 18 arrivals37 departures · destinations
SEC
6 players
Big 12
3 players
Big Ten
3 players
ACC
2 players
Unlisted
2 players
+
American Athletic
1 player
Other
1 player
+
Big Ten
9 players
ACC
5 players
Mid-American
5 players
SEC
4 players
American Athletic
3 players
Big 12
3 players
+
Other
8 players
Ohio State
-19 net moves
Arrived from · 18
SEC
6 players
Big 12
3 players
Big Ten
3 players
ACC
2 players
+
Unlisted
2 players
American Athletic
1 player
+
Other
1 player
Departed to · 37
Big Ten
9 players
ACC
5 players
Mid-American
5 players
SEC
4 players
American Athletic
3 players
Big 12
3 players
+
Other
8 players
6arrivals came from SEC programs — the single largest source.
15arrivals are projected straight into the two-deep (14 of 18 arrivals came from P4 leagues).
9departures stayed inside the Big Ten.
How the window developed
Cumulative net moves · in − out2 undated moves not plotted
All portal moves
55 of 55 moves match · 25 shownShow
Role in
Sort
PlayerPosDirectionOrigin / destinationRating’25 productionEligProjected roleDate
TM
Winter window · 4★
JS
Winter window · 4★
EL
Winter window · 4★
QR
Winter window · 4★
HW
Winter window · 4★
DK
Winter window · 4★
CA
Winter window · 3★
CC
Winter window · 3★
JJ
Winter window · 3★
JW
Winter window · 3★
KP
Winter window · 3★
DM
Winter window · 3★