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Vo. 1, No. 21
This week in Ohio State football we are taking stock in the aftermath of the National Championship Game and the closing of the transfer portal.
What should the Buckeyes learn from Indiana beating Miami in the final game, and what is Ohio State going to look like next season?
I took a stab at my Ohio State-related takeaways from Indiana’s national championship for a piece at PressProsMagazine.com.
The gist: Keeping doing what you’re doing, adjust roster building as necessary…. But that will only work if the coaching is better on game day. Of course, getting stronger in the trenches would make game planning a lot easier, and the redshirt freshman QB growing as expected would also help.
We’ll see how that turns out, but please go check out this link if you haven’t already read the story.
Now, what about next year?
We’ll take a closer look after our first ad break. (Please click the ads 🙂 )
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My quick projection of the 2026 Ohio State depth chart reveals the likelihood of 11 new starters including five or six transfers.
I see UCF transfer John Walker moving into the nose tackle spot or at least sharing it with Will Smith Jr.
Alabama transfers Qua Russaw and James Smith figure to be in the mix on the defensive line, where the shift to more of a five-man front could see Russaw as a hybrid end/linebacker and Smith playing inside, but there are several others in the mix at the latter spot.
How they replace Caden Curry will be interesting because of the evolution of the defense. Some of his snaps could go to ends like Zion Grady and Beau Atkinson while others could go to Russaw or another linebacker-type guy.
Wisconsin transfer Christian Allegro seems like a lock to start at linebacker next to returning junior Payton Pierce, who was the third linebacker in ’25.
Perhaps we see Alliegro playing both Will linebacker and the hybrid outside LB/DE role Arvell Reese played (Russaw could also be an option there) depending on down and distance.
Earl Little Jr. and Terry Moore seem like very likely starters at free safety and nickel while returning sophomore Devan Sanchez is the leader to replace Davison Igbinosun at corner opposite returning stater Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Devin McCuin (UTSA) and Kyle Parker (LSU) join Brandon Inniss to share snaps at Z receiver (flanker) opposite Jeremiah Smith, the X receiver (split end) in two-receiver sets and incoming freshman Chris Henry Jr. backing up Smith.
The offensive line will have a new starter, but will they just insert Josh Padilla or Gabe VanSickle at guard or could Phillip Daniels move inside and Ian Moore become the starting right tackle?
(Worth noting: They did not bring in anyone from the portal to replace Tshabola, unlike just about every other spot a starter departed.)
Tight end should have lots of competition and lots of snaps to go around regardless of who starts, but Ohio transfer Mason Williams could come right in and jump to the front of the line. Where does Hunter Welcing of Northwestern fit? He is said to be more of an H-back type. They also have Nate Roberts and Bennett Christian returning from regular roles last year.
(Here’s another ad; then we take a look around the Internet for items of note from three others who cover the Buckeyes)
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What do the Buckeyes have after the portal closed?
For more perspective, Tony Gerdeman of BuckeyeHuddle.com compared the incoming production to what was lost while long-time Ohio State writer Doug Lesmerisis broke down how the age/experience of the 2026 roster compares to last year in Columbus and elsewhere for the BillandDougOSU Substack.
Gerdeman notes the difference in experience is vast, but that is to be expected since Tshabola was the only starter to hit the exit and most of the newcomers were starters at their previous school. Still, the point is to show whatever losing a handful of freshmen and sophomores with potential means long term, the ’26 Buckeyes might be better than they would have been before the portal opened thanks to an influx of guys who have done it at this level already.
As far the experience issue, Lesmerisis discovered Ohio State won’t have as many cumulative snaps played as the ’24 team or ’25 Indiana or ’23 Michigan, but they will have many more than last season. That should be a good thing.
Do check out both of those stories in full:
What about outside expectations?
Steve Helwagen of Bucknuts rounded up a bunch of early preseason polls to save us some time.
It turns out national writers have not lost faith in the Buckeyes just yet despite the late-season losses to the two teams that played in the last game of the season.
Ohio State is No. 1 in the polls released by CBS Sports and SI.com while coming in second at The Athletic, The Sporting News and FoxSports.com.
The lowest ranking of the early polls is No. 6 at ESPN.com, where Mark Schlabach expressed concern about a schedule that could include six or seven ranked teams, including a trip to Indiana in October.
Indiana tops Schlabach’s poll, and the Hoosiers are No. 1 for FoxSports.com and TSN.
That means the Buckeyes and Hoosiers are everyone’s consensus top two in the Big Ten, right?
Nope.
With star quarterback Dante Moore returning, Oregon is No. 1 for Pro Football Focus, The Athletic and Yahoo! Sports.
The Ducks will visit Columbus this fall on a date to be revealed next week.
That’s all for this week, but please help spread the word if you like what you’re reading. I need your help to grow this newsletter, which will also help it remain free (especially if you’re clicking the ads, which pay me just for the click; you don’t have to buy anything).
I’m also always looking for feedback. What are your expectations for the 2026 Buckeyes? Concerns? Questions? Send them my way!
And don’t forget: I’m going to be taking regular looks back at the first year of Jim Tressel’s time at Ohio State all year. Here’s the first edition in case you missed it:
Thanks for reading!