The Opening Drive 1/5: Portal Season and Decisions That Matter
Philosophy over panic as the transfer portal results start to pour in.
Roster construction is not one-size-fits-all. Every program builds differently, and success depends on knowing who you are and what you need.
Some teams lean heavily into elite high school recruiting and then use the portal sparingly to patch specific holes. Others build a solid high school foundation but understand that the lifeblood of their roster will come from the portal year after year — Indiana is a clear example of that model.
Then there’s the Buckeyes.
Ohio State operates in a different space altogether. This isn’t about volume. It’s about precision. Timing. Fit. When your roster is already talent-rich, every addition has to make sense — not just on paper, but in the locker room, on Saturdays, and in December (and January).
The Buckeyes Approach
Before projecting what this portal cycle could look like, it’s important to understand how the Buckeyes have approached the NIL era to this point. One word continues to define their philosophy: retention.
Ohio State’s top priority has been — and still is — keeping key contributors in the building. Continuity matters. Championship rosters are built by stacking years together, not by resetting every offseason. That approach has paid dividends, with players like Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, and TreVeyon Henderson forming the core of title-level teams.
Once retention is secured, Ohio State turns to the portal to supplement — not overhaul — the roster.
Sometimes that means swinging big and adding difference-makers like Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins. Other times, it’s about bringing in players who may not grab headlines but solve real football problems — players like Will Kaczmarek. And, like every staff navigating the portal, there are swings that don’t land, as was the case with Ethan Onianwa.
Looking at the current roster, retention once again sits at the top of the board. Keeping players such as Kenyatta Jackson, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Jaylen McClain, Brandon Inniss, and potentially Kayden McDonald (just to name a few) is priority number one before Ohio State looks outside the program.
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Coach Day and The Buckeyes are in a unique spot. Ohio State consistently signs top-10 recruiting classes — investments that require both development and retention — while also carrying one of the most talented rosters in the country. That’s a great problem to have. But it changes how you have to approach the portal.
This next part is opinion — but it’s rooted in roster reality.
If Ohio State is going to maximize the portal moving forward, there’s a philosophy worth leaning into: pursue grown men with real playing experience.
When your roster is already full of high-end talent, what you need isn’t more upside — it’s reliability. Players who’ve played meaningful snaps. Players who’ve seen third-and-long, late-game drives, hostile environments. Players who understand situational football and preparation.
If you want proof of concept, look again at Indiana. The Hoosiers have leaned heavily into experienced, battle-tested players, and it shows in how they compete snap to snap. Adding veteran presence to an already talented Ohio State roster isn’t redundant — it’s additive.
The transfer portal isn’t about changing Ohio State’s identity. It’s about reinforcing it. For Coach Day and the Buckeyes, success will continue to come down to balance: retain elite talent, add experience where it’s needed, and be intentional rather than reactive. When the margins are this thin, the right veteran additions can be the difference between being talented — and getting back to the national championship.
Patience With the Portal
This is where patience matters — especially for fans.
Not every portal addition is going to be a splash name, and that’s by design. When the Buckeyes add someone like Mason Williams (TE, Ohio University), a proven starter, an All-MAC selection, and a player Ohio State nearly offered out of high school, the evaluation goes far deeper than a stat line. You don’t dismiss that addition because he finished with under 300 receiving yards.
You look at reps. You look at usage. You look at blocking value, durability, and how he fits what Ohio State asks the position to do. Portal wins aren’t always obvious on announcement day — they show up later, when depth, experience, and reliability start to matter.
That’s the patience piece. Trust the evaluation. Let the fit play out.
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