Ohio State redshirt junior Dylan Thompson announced his intentions to forgo his fifth year of eligibility and transfer from the program to pursue a graduate degree on Monday night.
Forever grateful pic.twitter.com/tbgLpRfEpb
— Dylan Thompson (@BRONCODE59) February 5, 2018
Thompson was a three-star prospect from Montini Catholic, just outside of Chicago, who’s battled academic and injury issues since he arrived on campus in 2014. He sustained a knee injury fall camp of his freshman season which led to a redshirt year and lingered well into 2015.
Thompson was ruled academically ineligible and lost his scholarship in 2016, but played in two games last season. He ends his Ohio State career with three tackles and 0.5 tackles for a loss.
Thompson was not on scholarship last season, so his departure doesn't help Ohio State in that respect. With 24 commitments in the 2018 recruiting class, the Buckeyes are at 87 scholarships for next season — two over the NCAA-mandated limit. They'll need to be down to 85 by the open of fall camp or the first day of fall semester, whichever comes first.
As for Thompson, it's unclear at this time what school may be his eventual landing spot. He chose Ohio State over offers from a dozen other programs, including Arkansas, Clemson, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Purdue, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
