Ohio State Buckeyes Coach Ryan Day Says Current Roster 'Logjam' Warrants Transfer Portal Activity
As the Ohio State Buckeyes prepare for a Cotton Bowl matchup with the SEC's Missouri Tigers, coach Ryan Day is still focused on recruiting and the transfer portal. Ohio State has already seen a large number of players enter the portal, including starting quarterback Kyle McCord and wideout Julian Fleming. But Day isn't surprised.
Day said he's had conversations with new players and remaining scholarship players who have extended eligibility due to the COVID pandemic, and he knows there's not room for everyone.
"There was a couple in there certainly that we had long conversations about, but coming off of COVID, there was really five-plus years of scholarships on our roster,” Day said. “You get to a point because of COVID where there’s a little bit of a logjam there. And so some of the guys who maybe found themselves third-string or maybe not seeing themselves as starters going into the next season were looking for other opportunities. And that's really the state of college football where we're at right now. Much different than in the past. And so excited those guys have an opportunity to go play in another place and get on the field.”
Ryan Day (L) and Kyle McCord
USA Today-Sports
Even with the exits through the transfer portal, Day likes the group he has this season that combines veterans with younger players.
“We have a really good group of guys that we feel like are coming back next year,” Day said. “Some of these guys have to make some final decisions (on the NFL draft), but I know that if some of these really talented players decide to come back and then we infuse them with the young players that are already in the program and then also guys we’re recruiting, we’ve got a chance to have a great roster next year.”
Players that have entered the transfer portal could still return to Columbus, and Day knows that the recruiting never stops.
“There's some guys who know there's unfinished business that they feel like they don't want to move on until they get that done,” Day said. “We have great guys in that locker room and so many guys understand how important it is to build the team right now. And for some, it makes sense to go ahead and move on and go to the NFL, but for others, they want to come back and keep working as Buckeyes.”
With the announced departure of McCord, Day announced on Thursday that Devin Brown will make the start against Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Brown, who competed with McCord for the starting job during fall camp, has played in five games, completing 12 of 22 passes for 197 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception.
With all the exits from the program, including McCord and Fleming, the Buckeyes are currently 3-point underdogs to the Tigers.