Happy first official day of transfer portal chaos, if you celebrate. If you’re checking the internet for the decisions of millionaire college students jumping schools, there is a good shot you celebrate. With the portal officially open, the thousands of FBS and FCS student-athletes can act as if it were a whole process and the players were never tampered with. Ohio State is in a different spot than it was a year ago. It’s not still in the running for the national championship when the window opens. Last year, it could have been argued that it put the Buckeyes at a slight disadvantage because coaches were focused on the games ahead, and the players who would later jump ship were still on the roster.
This year, Ohio State is in offseason mode on January 2, while Indiana, Oregon, Ole Miss, and Miami are still ready to play for a title.
Ohio State is going to need to add to its roster for 2026 via the portal. Let’s compile a quick wishlist of players looking for a new home. This is in no way predictive; this is merely the opinion of one person regarding which players could immediately help the Buckeyes in 2026.
Ohio State Transfer Portal Wishlist: The First Wave
Chaz Coleman, EDGE
The worst-kept secret, according to those in-the-know and those who think they are in-the-know, is that Chaz Coleman is going to be a Buckeye. Penn State won a hot recruiting battle against the Ohio-born EDGE rusher over Ohio State. However, last year did not go as planned for Penn State, and he’s in the portal. Could he follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech? Sure, but it’s looking more like he will be donning the Scarlet and Gray in 2026.
Ohio State’s defensive end room is a concern right now. Caden Curry is off to the NFL. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. has a decision to make because he has a redshirt senior season on the table. Transferring out are C.J. Hicks, Logan George, and Dominic Kirks, so the depth has nearly evaporated overnight. Next in line is Beau Atkinson, the only one with significant experience, while true freshman Zion Grady was used in rotation. That leaves Joshua Mickens and Epi Sitanilei, who combined for 61 snaps on defense this year.
The Buckeyes are adding four four-star EDGE rushers in this year’s recruiting class. Any one of them could break out, but Coleman is the best of the group.
Coleman was a four-star recruit out of high school, and 247Sports considers him a five-star transfer. He’s an uber-athletic player who could have been the next Abdul Carter at Penn State. That’s a lottery ticket worth buying. 247Sports has Coleman as the fourth-best player in the portal. Needless to say, expectations would be high if he came to town.
Koi Perich, Safety
Barring a late Christmas miracle, Caleb Downs is off to the NFL. As of now, there are no other safeties currently leaving the program. Malik Hartford was shut down for the season to preserve his redshirt, so the Ohio native could join Hicks as the second player to shut himself down to preserve a year to transfer. Of course, we are not speculating.
Jaylen McClain was the starter next to Downs this year, but behind him, there are no proven commodities. The Buckeyes are bringing in three four-star safety recruits this fall, so there will be a mess of unknowns.
Enter Koi Perich. Ohio State tried its hardest to flip Perich away from Minnesota at the gun. The Minnesota native stuck with the hometown team and was a superstar. In two seasons, Perich recorded 128 tackles, six interceptions (one pick-six), five pass breakups, and three forced fumbles. He could also take over returning duties, as he averaged over eight yards on 38 punt returns and 23.2 yards on 35 kick returns.
Perich is likely going to be a one-and-done no matter where he goes because the NFL will love his play. So what better way to get the Buckeyes from Downs to the next generation of safeties by bringing in a star whom they just missed out on?
Rasheem Biles, Linebacker
With Arvell Reese (most likely) and Sonny Styles off to the NFL, Matt Patricia will have to replace his two starting linebackers. On the roster, Peyton Pierce has the most playing time of the group with two high-upside freshmen in TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn. Behind them, Garrett Stover and Eli Riggs provided depth. In the recruiting class, James Laurinaitis nabbed Cincere Johnson and CJ Sanna, both Ohio-born and both four-star recruits.
If Laurinaitis would like a little more from his room from a proven commodity, Rasheem Biles could be the answer. The former Pitt star is actually taking a visit to Ohio State, so this could be as much of a “sure thing” as Coleman. Over his last two seasons, Biles compiled 183 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, three interceptions (all pick-sixes), 13 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries (one touchdown).
And he’s from Columbus.
Instant. Impact.
Mateen Bhaghani/Jackson Kleather, Kicker
We would be remiss if we left kicker off this list. Jayden Fielding has exhausted his eligibility, and Jackson Courville is hitting the portal. Ohio State needs to look.
Mateen Bhaghani has made 83% of his field goals and 100% of his extra points. He’s never missed from inside 30 and has made five kicks of over 50 yards on nine attempts. His career-long kick was 57 yards.
Jackson Klather took a step this year and hit 86.4% of his kicks and all of his extra points. He made eight of his 11 kicks from 40+ (three of five from beyond 50), and has a career long of 56.
It’s time Ohio State had a weapon at kicker.
At Least One Running Back
Bo Jackson seemingly has a grip on the starting job in 2026, as he should. Jackson didn’t play in the Week 1 win over Texas, but still put up 1,090 yards and scored six times. He had the shake that the rest of the room lacked. His vision and ability to get hard-fought yards earned him the respect of fans and coaches alike.
As of this writing, CJ Donaldson has graduated, while Sam Williams-Dixon and James Peoples have hit the portal. As of now, behind Jackson, the Buckeyes will have redshirt freshman Anthony Rogers, sophomore Isaiah West, and walk-on Stanley Jackson, Jr. The 2026 recruiting class will also bring in Legend Bey and Favor Akih.
Ohio State didn’t need to bring in Quinshon Judkins in 2024, but it still did because he was too talented to pass up. Even if the Buckeyes aren’t going to get a Justkins-like impact, they will need another body in the room. That is, of course, unless the staff is confident in Bey and/or Akih coming in and being as good an RB3 as West was in 2025.
Offensive Line
Finally, the Buckeyes could use an infusion of talent on the offensive line. The unit was solid this year against lesser teams. However, Indiana and Miami exposed it. Sure, there were injuries, but it was a massive mismatch. It completely destroyed anything the Buckeyes wanted to do on offense. Plus, the running game was a massive step back from last year. Given, Chip Kelly’s offensive mind did wonders for the running backs, but that steep a drop cannot happen.
We don’t have any specific names, mostly due to ignorance. There are so many offensive linemen out there, and their abilities are not as easily discerned as those in skill positions. Tyler Bowen joined the team later in the process last year, so with a full year under his belt, he should have some targets. There is a good chance the whole offensive line returns in 2026. It wouldn’t hurt to have a little competition.
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