Ryan Day addresses Ohio State's approach to adding through the transfer portal
Ohio State under head coach Ryan Day has never had much trouble in regards to recruiting, but the inception of the transfer portal in 2018 changed the recruiting landscape for all teams. Day pulled back the curtain on how they approach the transfer portal and how the Buckeyes have used it to elevate their roster in the past and how they plan to continue to moving forward.
“Every year you have 85 scholarships and you have 110 guys in preseason camp and just make sure that the numbers are right and so every year it’s a balance to figure out what the mixture is of guys. How many guys are kind of started level, backup level, and then usually some guys that are developmental,” Day said.
Day used some examples of transfer players in the past who have been crucial additions to Ohio State’s success, and some current transfer portal additions that can make an impact this upcoming season.
“And then there’s situations where you need someone to step in and fill a hole is typically the way that we’ve done it when you look at Trey Sermon and Jonah Jackson and some of the guys that we’ve had. It was great to have Tanner [McCalister] come in because we didn’t really have a lot of depth and nickel and so now he and Cam [Brown] are there and that’s really good,” Day said.
Day’s combination of recruited talent, developing talent, and transfer portal additions have been a recipe for success in the last few years for the Buckeyes. And this year’s team might be his most dangerous yet, ranked the No. 2 in the country according to the preseason rankings behind Alabama.
“That’s typically the way we’ve addressed it and we were I think at almost 90 guys going into the spring, so we were five over and we knew that because you knew that along the line there’s going to be some attrition and when you have some position battles that happens and very pleased with the 85 we have on. Some really good young players and some really talented guys with some experience,” Day said.
With Day happy about his roster and his team entering the season with a chip on their shoulder after losing to rival Michigan and missing both the Big Ten Championship game and the College Football Playoff, this Buckeyes team is surely poised for a breakout season as national title contenders.