If we had made a list of the most likely transfer portal targets for Ohio State, DeaMonte Trayanum probably wouldn’t have been on it.
After all, Trayanum was a running back at Arizona State, and Ohio State isn’t in the market for a transfer running back. The Buckeyes could potentially bring back all of their running backs from this season, while they also just signed high school running back Dallan Hayden, giving them plenty of depth behind breakout star TreVeyon Henderson.
Trayanum, however, won’t be coming to Ohio State to play running back. Instead, the Buckeyes are bringing him in to play linebacker, a position where they have reason to bring in reinforcements following the defense’s struggles this season.
Of course, Ohio State could have sought to bring in a transfer linebacker who already has experience playing at the collegiate level, which might have paid more immediate dividends in 2022. But there are multiple reasons why the Buckeyes might have chosen to target Trayanum instead.
For one, there weren’t any linebackers currently available in the transfer portal who would have been sure-fire upgrades next season. Per 247Sports, the top two uncommitted linebackers currently in the transfer portal are former Maryland linebackers Branden Jennings and Terrence Lewis, both of whom spent just one season with the Terrapins in which Jennings was a backup for most of the year and Lewis did not play.
Secondly, Ohio State probably preferred to bring in a linebacker who could potentially make an impact over multiple seasons rather than a veteran who would be a short-term rental. Because Trayanum is eligible to take a redshirt for the 2020 season in which Arizona State played just four games and the NCAA gave all players a free year of eligibility that season, Trayanum could still play as many as four seasons for the Buckeyes even though he’s already been out of high school for two years.
Effectively, that makes Trayanum a third linebacker for Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022 – except that he’s already been playing college football for two years. Ohio State originally wanted to take three linebackers in the class of 2022, but never replaced Dasan McCullough in the class after he flipped to Indiana; Trayanum may offer more upside, especially to contribute quickly, than any linebacker the Buckeyes could have added to the class to replace McCullough.
Another factor that likely mattered to Ohio State: Trayanum is a native of Akron, Ohio, who has long been interested in playing for the Buckeyes. Trayanum visited Ohio State numerous times as a high school recruit and told Eleven Warriors after a June 2019 visit that Ohio State “feels more and more like home.” But while Ohio State was most interested in Trayanum as a linebacker, his mind was set on playing running back out of high school, so he ended up signing with Arizona State instead.
Given that, it’s safe to say Trayanum wouldn’t be transferring to Ohio State and switching positions at this point in his career unless he really wanted to play for the Buckeyes, and that’s important to Ryan Day and Ohio State’s coaching staff. In an era where roster movement in college football is more fluid than it’s ever been before, Day has repeatedly emphasized the Buckeyes are looking for players who want to be at Ohio State and who fit the team’s culture, especially when they dip their toes into the transfer portal.
“You don’t just talk somebody into coming to your school anymore. You tell them all the reasons why, but they have to want to be there,” Day said earlier this month.
DeaMonte Trayanum was a regular visitor to Ohio State during his recruitment as a high school football player.
Since he’ll be learning to play a new position when he arrives at Ohio State, Trayanum shouldn’t be expected to make the same kind of immediate impact as other recent transfers like Justin Fields, Jonah Jackson, Trey Sermon and Noah Ruggles. While the Buckeyes brought in all of those players with the expectation that they would be immediate upgrades at positions of need, bringing in Trayanaum is more like signing a traditional recruit and betting on what he could become.
A look back at what Trayanum did as a high school linebacker provides reason for optimism about the kind of player he could be now that he’s playing the position collegiately. Trayanum was one of Ohio’s best linebackers when he played the position at Archbishop Hoban, earning first-team All-Ohio honors after recording 60 total tackles, eight sacks, five forced fumbles and 10 pass breakups as a junior. His high school highlights show a player who lined up all over the formation on defense, exploded to the ball and tackled with authority.
While he’ll have to learn the ins and outs of playing linebacker in Ohio State’s defense, he’s already built like a linebacker at 5-foot-11 and 235 pounds, and he has excellent athleticism for the position, too.
Trayanum will have to compete his way up the depth chart when he arrives at Ohio State. Steele Chambers, Cody Simon and Tommy Eichenberg are all expected back next season, while Teradja Mitchell and Palaie Gaoteote could also return for their additional year of eligibility. Mitchell Melton will also be hoping to earn playing time after missing the entire 2021 season with an injury, Reid Carrico will be looking to work his way into the rotation after redshirting this year and C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers will both be candidates to play immediately as true freshmen.
Nonetheless, every linebacker spot should be up for grabs going into next season after the linebacker unit’s struggles this season. The arrival of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles could create new roles in Ohio State’s defense, and the Buckeyes wouldn’t be bringing Trayanum in as a linebacker if they didn’t believe he could fill one of them, whether that be in 2022 or later. And Chambers’ rise into a starting role this season, after he made his own offseason move from running back to linebacker, is evidence that a player can make that transition quickly if he’s talented and a quick study.
Bringing in Trayanum will require more development than bringing in a transfer who’s already played the position, but Ohio State already has experience doing that with Chambers, while Knowles also has experience guiding a similar transition at Oklahoma State, where he helped Malcolm Rodriguez become one of college football’s best linebackers after playing quarterback in high school.
While Ohio State has expressed concerns about upsetting team chemistry by bringing in transfers, Trayanum already has relationships with Ohio State’s coaching staff – particularly running backs coach Tony Alford – that have been built over years, giving the Buckeyes reason to feel good about exactly what they’re getting from Trayanum as a person, much like when they brought in Sermon two years ago. And bringing in a player who is changing positions and understands he will have to earn playing time is far less likely to upset chemistry than a player coming in with expectations of starting immediately.
Trayanum’s complete lack of collegiate experience playing the position he’ll be playing at Ohio State makes it impossible to know exactly what he’ll be able to do for the Buckeyes, but the same can be said for any high school recruit. Ohio State would have brought in Trayanum to play linebacker two years ago if that’s what he wanted to do then, and the Buckeyes’ continued belief that he can be a difference-maker on defense is why they’re bringing him in now.
