Ohio State football winter transfer tracker 2024: Latest portal news, updates
The NCAA transfer portal opened on Dec. 4, a juncture on the college football calendar that brings a flood of player movement across the country.
Undergraduate players seeking immediate eligibility can put their names in the online database that allows them to be contacted by other schools about the possibility of transferring.
The period lasted until Jan. 2 after it was shortened from 45 days to 30 days earlier this year, though graduate transfers can enter at any time and be eligible for next season. A spring window follows from April 16-30.
To follow the activity involving Ohio State, an updated list of the comings and goings can be found below. Last year, the Buckeyes saw five scholarship players enter the portal during the winter window, while they added five others.
There has been more activity in this cycle.
Ohio State players entering the portal (20)
QB Kyle McCord
McCord, who entered the transfer portal as it opened Dec 4, is transferring to Syracuse.
A junior who started for the Buckeyes this past season after beating out Devin Brown for the starting job in a competition that lasted into September, McCord threw for 3,170 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 65.8% of his passes.
More:Oller: In the end, Day signing quarterback Kyle McCord was a swing and a miss
RB Will Hartson
The Massillon native announced Dec. 11 he was entering the transfer portal. He spent a season at Ohio State after joining the program as a preferred walk-on.
Hartson announced Jan. 11 his commitment to Southern Illinois.
RB Evan Pryor
A season-ending knee injury in 2022 was a setback for Pryor, who had been in contention to be the Buckeyes' No. 3 running back, and he was eventually surpassed by Chip Trayanum, a converted linebacker, and Dallan Hayden, who was a year behind him in eligibility.
Pryor, who went in the portal on Dec. 4 the day after revealing his intentions, announced Dec. 13 that he would transfer to Cincinnati.
RB Chip Trayanum
Trayanum was the primary backup behind TreVeyon Henderson this season and ran for 373 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner at Notre Dame.
He followed Pryor as the Buckeyes' second running back to enter the portal when he went in Dec. 6 and committed to Kentucky six days later.
WR Noah Rogers
Rogers, who was one of the highest-ranked prospects in the Buckeyes' 2023 recruiting class, entered the transfer portal two days after the Buckeyes' loss in the Cotton Bowl. He appeared in four games as a freshman and will reportedly head to North Carolina State, returning to his home state.
WR Julian Fleming
Fleming entered the portal on Dec. 4 and transferred to Penn State for his final season of eligibility.
He started the last two seasons for the Buckeyes after overcoming shoulder injuries that limited him earlier in his career. He caught 60 passes for 803 yards and six touchdowns between 2023 and 2022.
TE Joe Royer
Royer, a backup behind Cade Stover and Gee Scott Jr., entered the transfer portal on Dec. 7 and transferred to Cincinnati after four seasons with the Buckeyes.
The Cincinnati native caught four passes for 24 yards over his career.
Royer announced Jan. 8 his commitment to Cincinnati, joining former Ohio State running back Evan Pryor.
TE Sam Hart
After three seasons with the program, Sam Hart announced Jan. 16 that he would enter the the transfer portal as a graduate transfer.
Hart was the No. 15 tight end in the 2021 class and was a four-star prospect. Hart has two years of eligibility remaining.
OL Vic Cutler
This year marked Cutler’s lone season with the Buckeyes after he transferred from Louisiana Monroe in January.
Cutler, who reentered the portal on Nov. 30 as a graduate transfer, was the backup at center behind Carson Hinzman after competing for the starting job in the offseason. He had started 21 games at ULM between center and left and right tackle.
Cutler announced Dec. 17 his commitment to Louisville for his final season of eligibility.
OL Jakob James
After recovering from an unspecified injury that sidelined him for spring practice, James was in the mix with Cutler to start at center before Hinzman won the job in August.
James, a redshirt junior from Cincinnati, put his name in the portal on Dec. 4, and is transferring to Toledo.
DE Omari Abor
Injuries kept the 6-foot-3, 258-pound defensive end from seeing a more prominent role in the defensive end rotation over his two seasons at Ohio State.
Abor, who was a top-100 prospect coming out of high school in Duncanville, Texas, entered the portal Dec. 5 after he announced his intentions to do so a week earlier. He is headed to SMU.
DT Jaden McKenzie
On the morning after the Buckeyes' loss in the Cotton Bowl, McKenzie put his name in the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility.
He finished with 10 tackles in nine games as a fifth-year senior.
LB Reid Carrico
When Carrico entered the portal on Dec. 4, he became the sixth member of Ohio State's defense to do so.
He committed to the Buckeyes' 2021 class as the No. 87 player and No. 9 linebacker in the country. He was the third-ranked Ohio player in 2021. In three seasons with the program, Carrico recorded five tackles. He is to transfer to West Virginia.
DB Jyaire Brown
After two seasons with Ohio State, Brown, a cornerback, entered the portal on Dec. 5 and transferred to LSU.
After playing 195 snaps as a freshman in 2022, including a start against Wisconsin, he played in 48 snaps for the Buckeyes in 2023, playing in the Buckeyes' wins against Youngstown State, Western Kentucky, Purdue and Michigan State, according to Pro Football Focus.
Brown has nine tackles, three pass deflections and a forced fumble in two seasons at Ohio State.
DB Cameron Martinez
Martinez was part of the rotation in Ohio State’s secondary in 2022 and 2021 and made three starts, but saw his role diminish this year. He played his fewest snaps since redshirting as a freshman in 2020.
The slot safety entered the portal on Dec. 4 after he revealed his plans the previous week. He is transferring to Boston College, where he will reunite with Jeff Hafley, the Eagles' coach who recruited him to OSU when he was the Buckeyes' defensive co-coordinator and defensive backs coach.
DB Kye Stokes
Stokes confirmed he would enter the transfer portal after two seasons with the Buckeyes. He is the fourth Ohio State defensive back to enter the transfer portal.
A safety, Stokes played in 93 snaps across two seasons with Ohio State, including 10 in three games in 2023, per PFF. He had 12 tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one forced fumble over two seasons.
Stokes announced on Dec. 16 he would transfer to Cincinnati.
DB Ryan Turner
A reserve cornerback from South Florida, Turner appeared in six games over two seasons with the Buckeyes before he announced his plans on Dec. 3 to put his name in the portal. He announced on Dec. 15 he is bound for Boston College.
His first appearance this past fall did not come until the Buckeyes' rout of Michigan State in Week 11.
K Parker Lewis
Lewis transferred from Southern California last year, but appeared in only one game for the Buckeyes, kicking off twice against Western Kentucky this fall.
He put his name in the transfer portal Dec. 3 as a graduate transfer. On Jan. 6, Lewis announced he would transfer to Arizona State.
P Jesse Mirco
Another Ohio State special teams player is in the transfer portal.
Punter Jesse Mirco entered the transfer portal one day after his eight-punt performance in the Buckeyes' 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl.
In three seasons with the Buckeyes, Mirco recorded 130 punts for an average of 43.9 yards per punt.
Mirco announced Jan. 3 he would transfer to Vanderbilt.
LS Max Lomonico
Ohio State backup long snapper Max Lomonico is in the transfer portal.
Lomonico joined the program as a walk on in 2021 and was a two-time OSU Scholar athlete.
Ohio State added a transfer long snapper John Ferlmann ahead of the 2023 season. Morrow Evans also joined the Buckeyes as a long snapper in the 2024 class.
Players in the portal headed to Ohio State (6)
QB Will Howard
To replace McCord and add an experienced arm to its quarterback room, the Buckeyes landed a commitment on Jan. 4 from Will Howard, who spent four seasons at Kansas State and led the Wildcats to a Big 12 championship in 2022.
QB Julian Sayin
As part of the trickle effect following the retirement of Alabama coach Nick Saban, the Buckeyes added another quarterback out of the portal.
Sayin, the top-ranked quarterback recruit in the class of 2024 who had signed with the Crimson Tide in December, left the school, transferring to Ohio State and enrolled ahead of spring practice.
RB Quinshon Judkins
Only minutes after watching their archrivals win a national championship on Jan. 8, the Buckeyes got more positive news with a commitment from Quinshon Judkins, who was considered perhaps the best available transfer running back this winter.
Judkins was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference running back during each of his two seasons at Mississippi.
TE Will Kacmarek
A tight end from Ohio, Kacmarek was the first addition out of the portal for the Buckeyes this winter after he announced his commitment on New Year's Eve.
He caught 42 passes for 507 yards and two touchdowns over the last two seasons.
OL Seth McLaughlin
McLaughlin, the former starting center at Alabama, entered the portal in the aftermath of the Crimson Tide's loss to Michigan in the Rose Bowl and committed to the Buckeyes following a visit.
He is remaining at center despite issues snapping last season with the Crimson Tide.
S Caleb Downs
The biggest transfer prize for the Buckeyes might have been Downs, an All-America safety who burst onto the scene as a freshman last fall. Both recruiting services 247Sports and On3 ranked him as the top available transfer.
Ohio State had been among the runner-ups for Downs while previously recruiting him out of high school in 2022.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him onFacebook andX, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted atjkaufman@dispatch.com.