Ohio State transfer linebacker CJ Hicks commits to USF

Ohio State senior linebacker C.J. Hicks is committing to USF via the NCAA Transfer Portal. He spent four seasons with the Buckeyes.

Across that time, Hicks recorded 42 tackles, two sacks, and one pass deflection. He will now finish out his collegiate career with the Bulls.

Hicks’ intention to enter the portal came one day after the Buckeyes fell to No. 10 Miami in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Quarterfinal). Ohio State seemed poised to be in great contention to repeat as National Champions, but that will not come to fruition.

“I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said postgame. “I thought we did coming out of the second half. And by then, it was going to take a very, very efficient second half to win the game, being down 14-0. But I felt like at that point, we got into a rhythm. And when we had that drive there where we took a shot, it was incomplete.”

“And the next play was a hold that got us way behind the chains, and that was the drive that we needed to go win the game. And when you have a start the way that we did, you put yourself at risk of having to be really darn near perfect in the second half to go win the game. So we put ourselves behind the 8-Ball.”

Ohio State opened its season with an unblemished 12-0 record. But the Buckeyes finished the year with back-to-back losses to Indiana and Miami.

Prior to enrolling at Ohio State, Hicks was ranked as a five-star prospect and the No. 14 overall player in the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus. He was the No. 2-ranked LB in his class and the No. 2 overall player from the state of Ohio, hailing from Archbishop Alter.

More on Ohio State, Transfer Portal departures

C.J. Hicks was fourth Ohio State player to enter the Transfer Portal. Some fascinating prospects have made plans to enter or have already do so as well, like Bryson Rodgers, Jelani Thurman and Bryce West

The 2025-26 college football transfer portal will last 15 days, spanning from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16, the NCAA decided. While players have just over two weeks  to enter the portal, they’re not under a deadline to commit when they enter. Traditionally, the cut-off for committing has been how late a school can enroll a player through admissions, so it varies throughout the sport.

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.