Rice transfer OL Ethan Onianwa commits to Ohio State

Former Rice offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa has committed to Ohio State, via the NCAA Transfer Portal. Onianwa spent four seasons at Rice, including a redshirt year. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

During his time with the Owls, Onianwa made 38 appearances and 34 starts. He was an anchor for Rice’s front five, winning the George R. Brown Offense Award for his efforts in the 2023 campaign.

Onianwa allowed just one sack on 350 pass-blocking snaps this season as he made the switch from right tackle to left tackle. In nine starts during the 2024 season, Onianwa registered a 74.6 ProFootball Focus grade for the Owls, including a 67.9 run-blocking grade and an impressive 79.3 pass-blocking grade.

Ethan Onianwa was the No. 2 available interior offensive lineman, according to On3’s Transfer Portal Player Rankings. The 6-foot-6, 345-pound talent visited Ohio State on the weekend of Dec. 14. He was also sought after by Florida State, Iowa and Texas A&M in the transfer portal

Onianwa played high school football at Cinco Ranch (TX), where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 1,330 overall recruit and No. 67 offensive lineman in the 2021 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

The transfer portal officially opened Dec. 7 and will remain open until Dec. 28, though players on teams still playing in the postseason will get an additional five-day window to enter the portal after their seasons end.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.

Ohio State QB Will Howard is hungry for a national title

On Saturday, Ohio State sent a message to the rest of the College Football Playoff field with a dominant 42-17 win over Tennessee in the opening round. As exciting as the victory is, Buckeyes QB Will Howard has his eyes set on greater things.

“I’ve been playing college football for five years now, and this is all I have left. Like, I have, you know, four games max left in my college career. So, I mean, there’s no other option than to just empty the tank, and leave it all out here, because this is all we have left, as college athletes,” Howard said.

“Ohio State or not, like, this is it. And, I mean — I’m just excited to finish it the right way, because we have such a good group of guys, man. We have such an unbelievable team that we have here. It’s a special group… We can’t go out any other way than winning it at all.”