Another Buckeye is on the move.
On Tuesday, Ohio State tight end Sam Hart entered the transfer portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
— Sam Hart (@sam_hart82) January 16, 2024
"I am very grateful for these past few years as a Buckeye," Hart wrote in his tweet. "I would like to thank my teammates for the friendships and the memories, and the coaches for giving me the opportunity of playing here. After a lot of thought, I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer (May 2024) with 2 years of eligibility remaining."
A four-star recruit in the 2021 class, Hart chose Ohio State over LSU, Notre Dame, Michigan and Texas, among other schools. The Aurora, Colorado, native was ranked as the No. 388 overall prospect and No. 15 tight end in 2021, according to the 247Sports composite.
Hart started his Ohio State career with a redshirt season in 2021. Over the next two years, the 6-foot-5, 255-pound tight end was stuck behind several players in the Buckeyes' tight end room, including Cade Stover, Gee Scott Jr. and Joe Royer. Mitch Rossi also received snaps ahead of Hart in 2022, and the same was true for Patrick Gurd and freshman Jelani Thurman in 2023.
Scott, Thurman, and Bennett Christian – who was suspended for 2023 after he tested positive for a banned substance last offseason – are set to return to Ohio State next year. The Buckeyes also added four-star prospects Max LeBlanc and Damarion Witten in the 2024 class and received a commitment from Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek on Dec. 31. With those six scholarship players in the room, Hart had no guarantee his role would increase next season or in the future.
Hart becomes the 19th Ohio State player to enter the transfer portal since the end of the regular season. He and defensive tackle Jaden McKenzie are the two Buckeyes currently in the portal.
Former Buckeyes who have transferred to new schools over the past six weeks include quarterback Kyle McCord (Syracuse), running backs Evan Pryor (Cincinnati) and Chip Trayanum (Kentucky), wide receivers Julian Fleming (Penn State) and Noah Rogers (NC State), tight end Joe Royer (Cincinnati) centers Victor Cutler Jr. (Louisville) and Jakob James (Toledo), defensive end Omari Abor (SMU), linebacker Reid Carrico (West Virginia), cornerbacks Ryan Turner (Boston College) and Jyaire Brown (LSU), safeties Kye Stokes (Cincinnati) and Cameron Martinez (Boston College), punter Jesse Mirco (Vanderbilt) and kicker Parker Lewis (Arizona State).
Wide receiver Bryson Rodgers also spent two weeks in the transfer portal, but after visits to multiple schools, he chose to return to Ohio State for the 2024 season.
