Scarlet Sunrise: Running back Willtrell Hartson enters transfer portal

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Running back Willtrell Hartson enters transfer portal

Running back Willtrell Hartson is the latest Ohio State player in the transfer portal. Hartson — who joined the Buckeyes as a preferred walk-on ahead of the 2023 season — announced his decision Monday.

“First and foremost, I want to thank God for giving me a great opportunity to play this game,” Hartson wrote in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I want to thank Coach [Tony] Alford and Coach Riley [Larkin] along with the rest of the coaching staff for recruiting me and helping me build and grow as a person and as a player.

“With that being said, I will be entering the transfer portal with four years of eligibility left.”

pic.twitter.com/yppxP1lOus

— Willtrell Hartson (@x_trell4) December 11, 2023

With Hartson’s departure, the current Ohio State running back room thinned out even more. Miyan Williams declared for the NFL Draft earlier this month, and both Chip Trayanum and Evan Pryor hit the portal as well.

That means the only two scholarship running backs remaining for the Cotton Bowl are TreVeyon Henderson — who still has to decide if he’s leaving for the NFL — and Dallan Hayden. Another walk-on to keep an eye on is TC Caffey, who joined the program in 2022 and played in two games that season before suffering a knee injury that kept him out the rest of the year and 2023 spring ball.

Hartson, meanwhile, was a three-star Massillon (Ohio) Washington prospect who had FBS offers, including one from Boston College, but announced last Christmas Eve that he’d be starting his college career at Ohio State.

“I really like it there,” Hartson told Lettermen Row last year. “I like how the coaches treat their players and the bond they have.

“It makes me feel like I never left Massillon because they show a lot of love.”

Massillon, a well-respected high school program in Ohio and throughout the country, is about 120 miles northeast from Ohio State. Current Buckeyes wideout Jayden Ballard is another alum.

Hartson set program records there as senior with 2,073 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns. Now, he’s looking for a place where he can put his talent on display.

Five Buckeyes with something to prove in Cotton Bowl practice

Cotton Bowl opt-outs are expected for Ohio State, given the sheer number of NFL prospects on the Buckeyes’ roster.

Between those opt-outs and the several transfer portal entries, Ohio State will be down quite a few players, meaning that some of the youngsters will need to step up in Dallas against No. 9 Missouri.

Lettermen Row is taking a look at five of the Buckeyes underclassmen who could have a chance to make a statement during bowl season.

Check it out here.

Marvin Harrison Jr. clinches consensus All-American honors

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. has already clinched consensus All-American honors, which require a player to be a first-team selection on at least half of the major All-American teams.

Harrison was named a first-team All-American Monday by both the Football Writers Association of America and the Associated Press. The Biletnikoff Award winner had already been recognized as such by the Walter Camp Football Foundation.

The Buckeyes star has a chance to repeat as a unanimous All-American. He just needs to earn first-team selections from The American Football Coaches Association and Sporting News, which are expected to roll our their results this week.

For more on Harrison’s latest achievement, head on over here.

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

Having trouble keeping track of all of Ohio State’s transfer portal departures?

Lettermen Row has you covered.

The Buckeyes have already seen 14 of their scholarship players hit the portal — including starting quarterback Kyle McCord, starting wide receiver Julian Fleming and key running back Chip Trayanum — and there could be more on the way soon.

Follow along here to stay up to date.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 354 days

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