Retention gets less attenion, but the Buckeyes keep the guys they want: Ohio State roster building

Over five years of the transfer portal, has Ohio State lost even five guys to other programs the Buckeyes really wished they could have kept?

The Block O hasn’t seen too many players the Buckeyes really wanted to keep depart through the transfer portal. (Photo by Doug Lesmerises)

This is the last part of our series on the current state of roster building in college football and how Ohio State is navigating it. We covered recruiting and the transfer portal. Today is retention. And then we’ll be diving into the looming Ohio State-Washington game all week.

COLUMBUS — Over the offseason, Ohio State lost 13 players in the transfer portal who combined for 755 offensive and defensive snaps last season.

Those players through the first four weeks of this college football season have made 10 starts for their new teams — four by Virginia defensive end Mitchell Melton, three by Texas defensive tackle Hero Kanu, and one each by Kansas State linebacker Gabe Powers, Indiana offensive tackle Zen Michalski, and Cincinnati tight end Patrick Gurd.

There has been some tough luck limiting other contributions:

• George Fitzpatrick was expected to start at left tackle for Kansas State, but a medical issue has kept him off the field so far.

• Devin Brown lost the quarterback battle at Cal to true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, and he has completed 3 of 5 passes as the backup.

• Jayden Bonsu moved from safety to linebacker at Pitt and was targeted for the two-deep behind an All-American candidate. But he was lost for the season due to an August leg injury.

• Michalski was a potential starter with the Hoosiers, but he lost the right tackle job. He started against Indiana State when Khalil Benson was out, but otherwise has played 14 snaps in the other three games.

So there are some guys finding roles in new homes. There’s also Calvin Simpson-Hunt as a backup cornerback at Baylor; receiver Jayden Ballard with seven catches, including two touchdowns, at Wisconsin; receiver Kojo Antwi with one catch at Colorado State; Air Noland as the No. 3 quarterback at South Carolina; and Miles Walker as a backup offensive lineman at Boise State.

The bottom line in Columbus?

The Buckeyes didn’t lose any guys they couldn’t afford to lose, and none of their absences blew a hole in Ohio State’s 2025 plans. That’s been the case for the most part since the NCAA instituted the one-time transfer rule in 2021 that allowed players to move to a new team without sitting out a season.

Since then, in the five years of players that left for other programs between 2021 and 2025, I count: