Inside Ohio State's transfer trades that netted 5,655 snaps of experience for the roster
The transfer portal is free agency, but you can also imagine it as potential for production swaps at many positions.
COLUMBUS — The transfer portal is college football free agency. But it’s not a bad idea to think of Ohio State’s portal moves as trades.
Most of those swaps were younger potential out and older production in. Let’s look at some numbers.
Ohio State had 31 players enter the portal — 14 on offense, 15 on defense and 2 on special teams.
Ohio State has added 16 players through the portal — 6 on offense, 8 on defense and 2 on special teams.
That’s a minus-15 on total players, but when it comes to how much college football has been played, Ohio State’s moves are a net positive.
Let’s look at 2025 snaps.
On offense, Ohio State lost 14 players who played a combined 1,858 snaps.
The Buckeyes added 6 players on offense who played a combined 2,029 snaps. That’s plus-171 snaps.
And 2 players who began the 2025 season with major roles but, based on performance, didn’t figure into 2026 plans — right guard Tegra Tshabola (607 snaps) and running back James Peoples (184 snaps) — were the leading offensive contributors. Meanwhile, Ohio State added 4 players who played at least 400 snaps in 2025.
On defense, Ohio State lost 15 players who played a combined 519 snaps in 2025.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Bill and Doug Show: Premium Ohio State Writing & Talk to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.