Transfer tracker: Breaking down Buckeyes moves, philosophy in transfer portal

COLUMBUS — The first-ever transfer portal window is officially open. Don’t expect Ohio State to be among the most active programs in the transfer portal.

The Buckeyes philosophy on the transfer portal hasn’t changed, and it is unlikely that it will anytime soon.

Still, it’s a busy time as Buckeyes players enter the portal in search of new homes, while Ohio State is keeping its eye out for potential difference-makers that are also fits in the program. Lettermen Row and On3 will have you covered with every piece of news over the next 45 days.

This story will be updated with transfer portal offers from Ohio State, the list of Buckeyes players in the portal, thoughts from Ryan Day and more.

To track all of the action in the portal for teams across college football, you can click the links below.

On3 Transfer Portal Homepage

The Transfer Portal Wire

The Transfer Portal News Feed

Ohio State players in the Transfer Portal

Below is a running list of Ohio State players in the Transfer Portal:

Second-year defensive back Jantzen Dunn: A former four-star prospect from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Dunn was ranked the No. 157 overall player in the country in the 2021 recruiting class. He was rated as the No. 8 safety and was the No. 2 player in the state of Kentucky. Dunn showed promise during his first year with the Buckeyes before suffering a season-ending injury last October. Dunn returned for the 2022 season, but he went through injuries in training camp this fall — and struggled to catch up in the following months. Now he has a chance to go elsewhere and find a place to play.

READ: Buckeyes reserve defensive back Jantzen Dunn enters transfer portal

Jantzen Dunn has announced that he will play next season at Kentucky.

Second-year defensive back Jaylen Johnson: Johnson, a Cincinnati native and La Salle High School product, was a former four-star recruit from the Buckeyes 2021 class. He was one of three safeties the Buckeyes brought on board in the class, along with Dunn and Andre Turrentine. Johnson was one of the first players to commit to the Ohio State class of 2021. He joined the Buckeyes class on Jan. 7, 2020. But he struggled with injuries throughout his career at Ohio State, most notably tearing his ACL during spring practice in his first few practices on campus — his first spring with the Buckeyes. He finishes his Buckeyes career with one career tackle.

READ: Buckeyes reserve safety Jaylen Johnson enters transfer portal

Fifth-year linebacker Teradja Mitchell: A former Buckeyes captain, Teradja Mitchell was recruited to Ohio State as a top-50 overall player in the country out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He waited patiently to get on the field after years of sitting behind future NFL linebackers. But he struggled during his time on the field for the Buckeyes. Mitchell ends his Ohio State career with 63 career total tackles and seven tackles for loss. Mitchell played for three different linebackers coaches in five years at Ohio State. Most of his playing time came in 2020 and 2021 under Washington.

READ: Buckeyes linebacker Teradja Mitchell enters transfer portal

Teradja Mitchell has announced that he will play next season at Florida.

Second-year long snapper Mason Arnold: Arnold was a former preferred walk-on who was thrust into a starting role on the road versus Penn State this season after seventh-year veteran Bradley Robinson went down with a season-ending injury against Iowa. Arnold ended up starting the final six games of the season. His stint came with some ups and downs, most notably him being part of a called fake punt in the third quarter of the Michigan game that never happened. But Arnold stepped in when Ohio State needed help, and now he has three years of eligibility remaining to continue his college career elsewhere.

READ: Buckeyes long snapper Mason Arnold enters transfer portal

Fifth-year defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste: Jean-Baptiste accumulated more than 900 defensive snaps across four seasons and five years at Ohio State, according to PFF. He registered a career-high 19 total tackles in 2022, including nine solos. The 6-foot-5, 249-pound Bergen Catholic product was third on the team this year with four sacks. His most valuable performance this past fall might have come against Iowa, as he tallied 1.5 sacks against a Hawkeyes team that was hanging around in the first half. Jean-Baptiste has one season of eligibility remaining.

READ: Buckeyes defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste enters transfer portal

Second-year cornerback JK Johnson: Johnson was the No. 69 player in the country in the class of 2021, according to On3. That ranking put him as the No. 6 cornerback in his class and the No. 1 player in the state of Missouri. The DeSmet (St. Louis) product finishes his Ohio State career with 22 total tackles and no interceptions. He played in 15 career games. He has three years of eligibility remaining after redshirting one year and playing one year for the Buckeyes.

READ: Buckeyes cornerback JK Johnson enters transfer portal

Ohio State Transfer Portal Additions

Former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter: A former three-star recruit and three-year playmaker for Syracuse, Carter has played 22 games across those three seasons, totaling 136 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, five interceptions, seven passes deflected and two forced fumbles. Carter was named a freshman All-American in 2020. He started for the Orange and their impressive defense this season. Carter will have multiple years of eligibility remaining at Ohio State, meaning he can impress and move on to the NFL or become a mainstay in an improving Buckeyes secondary for the next couple of years.

READ: Former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter commits to Ohio State

Former Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia: The Buckeyes added former Oregon State starting quarterback Tristan Gebbia on Jan. 17. Gebbia has played in 12 career games for the Beavers before hitting the transfer portal. In those 12 appearances, he had 1,250 yards passing for five touchdowns and four interceptions. Gebbia will have one year of eligibility remaining at Ohio State. With the addition of Gebbia, the Buckeyes will be at four quarterbacks on the roster next fall. Projected starter Kyle McCord, second-year quarterback Devin Brown and true freshman Lincoln Kienholz will be a part of the room that now includes Gebbia, a former PAC-12 starting quarterback.

READ: Buckeyes add Oregon State transfer quarterback Tristan Gebbia

Former Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun: The Buckeyes are dipping into the transfer portal to make sure they aren’t thin at cornerback again next season. Former Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun announced his commitment to Ohio State on Tuesday afternoon, choosing the Buckeyes over Tennessee, Michigan, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. The 6-foot-2, 185 pound defensive back, who started 10 games last season for the Rebels, will have three years of eligibility remaining. He joins a cornerback room that features Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock as potential starters, along with second-year cornerbacks Ryan Turner and Jyaire Brown, as well as two new freshmen the Buckeyes picked up on the recruiting trail in the class of 2023.

READ: Buckeyes land commitment from Ole Miss transfer cornerback Davison Igbinosun

Ohio State Transfer Portal Offers

Below is a running list of offers the Buckeyes have handed out in the Transfer Portal:

Rhode Island offensive tackle Ajani Cornelius: The 6-foot-5, 310-pound tackle started each of the past two seasons at right tackle for at FCS Rhode Island. Cornelius is one of the hottest transfer commodities on the market and took a visit to Nebraska last weekend. He was a first-team All-Colonial Conference pick this season. Cornelius has two seasons of eligibility left. Ohio State has now thrown its hat into the ring for the talented, experienced tackle. Players of Cornelius’ size and experience at tackle are hard to find in the transfer portal.

Cornelius chose Oregon over Ohio State, Tennessee and Nebraska on Dec. 21.

UTEP offensive tackle Jeremiah Byers: The 6-foot-4, 331-pound tackle was an honorable mention All-Conference USA performer in 2021 and started at right tackle for the Miners this past fall. He has started every game for UTEP in each of the last two seasons. He posted a 79.4 overall offensive ProFootball Focus grade this season, posting an 83.2 for the season in pass blocking and 79.3 in run blocking. He was PFF’s 33rd best tackle for the season. Byers has multiple years of eligibility remaining. Tackles with the size and experience like Byers are extremely hard to find to find in the portal.

Byers chose Florida State on Dec. 19.

Tulsa offensive tackle Dillon Wade: At 6-foot-4 and 290 pounds, Dillon Wade is an intriguing offensive lineman in the transfer portal. Wade posted a decent 65.1 overall PFF grade, including a 65.1 run-blocking grade and a 65.2 pass-blocking number. He played against the Buckeyes in 2021 and was a starter along the offensive line in 2022. The Houston, Texas, native has multiple years remaining in college football and has the size and experience Ohio State is clearly targeting in the transfer portal along the offensive line.

Wade committed to Auburn on Dec. 23.

Washington State offensive tackle Jarrett Kingston: A versatile player who started three years at Washington State at both left guard and left tackle, Jarrett Kingston is an intriguing player who certainly has the interest of Ohio State. The 6-foot-5, 302-pounder made it clear to Washington State earlier in the year that he would be leaving Pullman, but many expected he would be off to the NFL Draft process. Now, however, he has offers from around the country, including from the Buckeyes. He is a name to keep an eye on as other potential offensive line options in the transfer portal announce commitments elsewhere.

Kingston committed to USC in mid-January.

Ryan Day reiterates Buckeyes approach to Transfer Portal

Ohio State would much rather build its program through high-school recruiting than by using the transfer portal.

But that doesn’t mean Ryan Day and the Buckeyes won’t fill holes in their roster by taking advantage of transfer portal entries and rules.

“There’s going to be situations that occur where guys feel maybe they have an opportunity to go play more at another school, and we understand that,” Day said. “It’s something that certainly wasn’t the case very long ago, but it’s become a reality. So I think communication is the most important thing.

“But we still focus most of our time on recruiting high school players and develop them while they’re here.”

Day isn’t against the transfer portal. The Buckeyes have patched up their needs that couldn’t be filled immediately be high school talent in the past, most notably with Justin Fields and Trey Sermon, who helped Ohio State play for a national title.

But Ohio State wants to build a certain culture. And that can’t be done by raiding the portal and having a new roster each and every offseason.

“I think it has to do with your culture,” Day said. “I think there’s nothing more important than the culture of your team. All the work that gets done in the offseason in the weight room, spring practice and the summers, that’s how you build your program. Through culture.

“That’s a shared behavior through leaders, and when you start to move those pieces around every year, it becomes harder and harder to maintain that.”

The Transfer Portal Windows

The NCAA Transfer Portal’s newest rules will allow 60 days per year for student-athletes to enter the portal and maintain immediate eligibility for first-time transfers. For fall sports like football, the window will be split into two periods. The first, a 45-day period, began Dec. 5. It will close on Jan. 19.

A second window will be instituted from May 1-15, giving players an option to enter the transfer portal after spring practice concludes. 

Transfer Portal Guidelines

The NCAA transfer portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.