Buckeyes long snapper Mason Arnold enters transfer portal

COLUMBUS — Ohio State long snapper Mason Arnold has entered the transfer portal.

Arnold, a former preferred walk-on, first saw action this year when seventh-year veteran Bradley Robinson went down with a season-ending injury against Iowa. Arnold went on to start the remaining six games of 2022, including the Buckeyes’ heartbreaking Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal.

Arnold still has three years of eligibility remaining.

He’s the fourth Ohio State player to put his name in the portal this cycle. So have second-year defensive backs Jantzen Dunn and Jaylen Johnson as well as fifth-year linebacker Teradjia Mitchell.

Arnold shed his black stripe the week after the Penn State game.

Arnold made his first career tackle at Penn State. The next week, he didn’t have any snapping errors in the blustery winds at a rainy Northwestern that reached north of 40 miles per hour. Arnold, notably, was part of a called fake punt in the third quarter of the Michigan game that never happened — rather than sending the snap back to upback Mitch Rossi, Arnold hurled it to punter Jesse Mirco.

The hole was there for Rossi, and Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh admitted as much.

It raised a big “what if” question surrounding The Game, considering that it was 24-20 at the time, and it was 4th-and-5 from the Michigan 43-yard line. From that point forward, Michigan outscored Ohio State, 21-3.

Arnold and the Buckeyes got that fake right Saturday night against Georgia in the Peach Bowl, except it didn’t count because Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart called a timeout just before Arnold’s snap. For what it’s worth, though, Arnold did get the snap to Rossi, and the play worked to perfection.

Arnold played center, in addition to long snapper, at Carrollwood Day in Tampa, Florida, where he also became an undefeated wrestling state champion in 2020.

Earlier this cycle, Ohio State reeled in Arizona State transfer long snapper John Ferlmann, who appeared in 12 games for the Sun Devils this season. Ferlmann — a Phoenix, Arizona, native — was a five-star prospect at Boulder Creek High School, according to Rubio’s Long Snapping ranking, which also had him as the No. 7 long snapper in the country before he reached the collegiate ranks.

Another name to watch for is Max Lomonico, a second-year Buckeyes player who was also in play for replacing Robinson midseason before Arnold earned that role.

To follow all of the Buckeyes portal activity, check out the Lettermen Row transfer tracker.