Ohio State’s 2024 transfer portal class was its best since the portal first popped into existence during the 2018 season.
The Buckeyes landed quarterback and consummate leader for their national championship run Will Howard, unanimous All-American safety Caleb Downs, Rimington Trophy-winning center Seth McLaughlin, 1,000-yard rusher Quinshon Judkins, another regular contributor in Will Kacmarek plus potential quarterback of the future Julian Sayin.
It’s hard to contend with a haul like that. While Ohio State’s 2025 transfer portal additions don’t have the same flash as a freshman All-American or two-time All-SEC running back, Ryan Day patched some major holes on his roster for the upcoming campaign. Three of the Buckeyes’ acquisitions are likely to start immediately and still more could be major contributors.
With spring practice a little over a month away, Eleven Warriors is taking a look at where each of Ohio State’s transfer portal signees will factor in at their respective position groups. Contributions from several of them will be key to the Buckeyes’ continued success in 2025.
Ethan Onianwa, former Rice offensive tackle
There’s a reason left tackle is often the second position NFL general managers want to get right after quarterback. Protecting the blindside of that aforementioned ball-pitching position and anchoring the ever-critical offensive line is paramount.
Onianwa enters hand-picked as Ohio State’s left tackle this season after the departure of Josh Simmons and Donovan Jackson for the NFL draft. He’ll take a leap in competition going from Rice to the Buckeyes, but with 34 starts of experience and a 6-foot-6, 345-pound frame, there’s a lot to like about him at the position.
Per Pro Football Focus, Onianwa allowed just one sack in 350 pass-blocking snaps in 2024. 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings put him 13th among offensive tackles, but many experts believe the redshirt senior can outperform that listing. After all, the same transfer portal rankings had Duke's Maalik Murphy and Kentucky's Brock Vandagriff placed ahead of Howard at quarterback last season despite his wealth of experience at Kansas State.
Hes the best offensive lineman in the portal and its not even close. Cant believe he didnt declare. https://t.co/6NMc1U1zbm
— Tom Luginbill (@TomLuginbill) December 24, 2024
A thin collection of tackles in the Buckeyes’ offensive line room will offer little pushback for his claiming of the LT spot, with fellow transfer tackle Phillip Daniels probably filling in at right tackle. Redshirt freshman Ian Moore could provide depth anywhere along the line, and Ohio State’s next-best depth options are redshirt freshman Deontae Armstrong and incoming freshman Carter Lowe.
Max Klare, former Purdue tight end
Max Klare could emerge as a star at tight end for Ohio State in 2025. (Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images)
Finding a good share of targets when Ohio State returns a dastardly wide receiver trio of Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss could be difficult, but Klare is among the best receiving tight ends in college football.
Purdue went 1-11 and had the No. 113 passing offense in college football last season. To manage 51 receptions for 685 yards and four touchdowns as a tight end in that attack as Klare did is no small feat. No other Boilermaker had more than 365 receiving yards. Klare was the No. 1 tight end and No. 15 overall player in 247Sports’ portal rankings.
Unlike offensive tackle, however, the Buckeyes are incredibly deep at tight end. Redshirt senior Will Kacmarek carved out a steady block-heavy role after transferring from Ohio in 2024, and top-100 prospect Jelani Thurman enters his third season eager to build upon his 165 snaps this past campaign. Redshirt junior Bennett Christian emerged as a blocking weapon and played 235 snaps of his own.
That doesn’t even factor in some highly touted prospects like redshirt freshman Max LeBlanc or incoming freshman Nate Roberts. Keenan Bailey’s room is loaded for 2025 but Klare is poised to be the headliner, especially from a receiving perspective. Ohio State should mix in plenty of two-tight end formations as well, as it did in 2024.
Phillip Daniels, former Minnesota offensive tackle
Daniels might have been the higher-ranked portal player between he and Onianwa, but he’s the far less proven asset as he aims to take up Josh Fryar’s mantle at right tackle for Ohio State. The redshirt sophomore made just four starts at Minnesota before transferring back to his home state school, as he’s originally from Cincinnati.
Packing 315 pounds onto a 6-foot-5 frame, Daniels was ranked as the No. 5 offensive tackle and No. 45 player in the portal. He allowed one sack and nine total pressures in 158 pass blocking snaps in 2024, per PFF. His overall grade of 58.7 was firmly below Onianwa’s mark of 74.6, and there’s clearly some development Daniels will need to be ready for his likely starting role.
The good news for both offensive line bookends is that Ohio State returns a solid core of interior linemen. Luke Montgomery emerged as a menace at left guard in the College Football Playoff, and starting right guard Tegra Tshabola returns for another season, as does Austin Siereveld, who rotated with Tshabola throughout 2024. Siereveld could compete at either guard spot as the Buckeyes work out who their best five are up front. Carson Hinzman took back over at center after McLaughlin’s injury, and with an additional 12 starts of experience at the spot from 2023, he figures to man the middle once more in 2025.
CJ Donaldson, former West Virginia running back
CJ Donaldson provides a powerful complement to James Peoples at running back for Ohio State. (Credit: Michael C. Johnson-Imagn Images)
Donaldson will be Ohio State’s only scholarship running back who isn’t a first- or second-year player in 2025. It’s clear he was brought in to play a role for the Buckeyes out of the backfield, the only question is how big that role will be.
The most likely scenario is that he and sophomore James Peoples, a top-120 prospect, form a running back tandem similar to the split between TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins last year. Peoples picked up 49 carries for 197 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes’ third-string rusher in 2024.
Meanwhile at West Virginia, Donaldson had 163 carries for 734 yards (4.5 per carry) and 11 touchdowns, fresh off another 798 yards and 11 scores in 2023. Donaldson’s power at 6-foot-2, 238 pounds should complement the shifty Peoples well. Four-star freshmen Bo Jackson and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers will compete for reps behind those two, as will three-star freshman Isaiah West.
Logan George, former Idaho State defensive end
At another position where both Ohio State starters are off to the NFL, the Buckeyes have a clear succession plan in Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry. C.J. Hicks is also back for his senior season with ambitions of playing an edge-rushing role, a chess piece the team’s new defensive coordinator (or coordinators) will need to figure out how and how much to utilize. But just because he’s coming from an FCS school doesn’t mean George should be slept on.
George racked up 57 tackles, an incredible 19.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks with the Bengals last season and is a clear candidate to be the Buckeyes’ third defensive end in 2025. Jackson, Ohio State’s third DE in 2024, played 314 snaps. It’s a key rotational role given the demands of a potential 16-game season as OSU endured in the dawn of the 12-team CFP era.
“I like Logan a lot on video tape,” defensive line coach Larry Johnson told Eleven Warriors on Dec. 30. “I watched every game he played in. There’s certain things that I like about guys we see on video tape. Plays really hard, really smart football player. Has a relentless motor. No matter what level you play at, you have to have the skill set. And when I had a chance to meet him in-person, one-on-one – he’s an amazing kid.”
Redshirt sophomore Joshua Mickens will try to provide the junior George with some competition for playing time, as will redshirt freshman Dominic Kirks and incoming freshmen Zion Grady and Epi Sitanilei.
Ty Howard, former Duquesne linebacker
Sonny Styles returns as Ohio State’s starting Will linebacker for this season and Arvell Reese will take Cody Simon’s place at Mike, plus there’s a lot of good young talent in the room with sophomore Payton Pierce, redshirt freshman Garrett Stover and highly touted incoming freshmen Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford. As a redshirt junior, Howard figures to provide some veteran depth here.
A first-team All-Conference performer at Duquesne, Howard collected 52 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four sacks, three interceptions, four pass breakups and a fumble recovery for the Dukes in just nine games in 2024. He’s a bit of a wild card for playing time and Ohio State’s complete scheme remains unknown, but perhaps he could give Pierce and company a run at being the Buckeyes’ third linebacker, a role that gave Reese plenty of action last year (43 tackles in 307 snaps).
