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Ranking the best Ohio State football transfer signings from 2025 winter window
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- Ranking the best Ohio State football transfer signings from 2025 winter window
Ohio State football again brought in six transfers during the winter window .
The portal class arrived on campus last month, floating a bit under the radar. It lacked the big names of a year ago, players who would help to propel the Buckeyes to a national championship .
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But the latest group has proven starters and others with upside who should help the Buckeyes reload in the aftermath of their title run .
Here's a look at the transfers who could make the most immediate impact in 2025:
Ohio State transfers
6. Ty Howard , LB
Howard carved out a sizeable role as a full-time starter last season at FCS Duquesne. His 52 tackles were the second-most among the Dukes. He finished as a first-team Northeast Conference selection. But Howard projects initially as more of a depth piece because the Buckeyes have a stable linebacker corps, especially at the top of the depth chart. Sonny Styles , the starting weak-side linebacker, held off on leaving for the NFL, and Arvell Reese , a high-end backup, returned as well.
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5. Logan George , DE
There's a reason Ohio State was among the horde of major conference teams to covet George this winter. He was a havoc-wreaking edge rusher over his two seasons at Idaho State . He finished with 19.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and six quarterback hurries last fall as a sophomore. Only five defenders in the Football Championship Subdivision totaled more tackles behind the line of scrimmage in 2024.
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If he can make the jump to the highest level of Division I, the Buckeyes should have a role for him in their rotation. Star defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau exhausted their eligibility; and Mitchell Melton , a key reserve, transferred to Virginia . George will bolster a group of returning ends led by Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry .
Illinois defensive back Matthew Bailey leaps over Minnesota offensive lineman Phillip Daniels to get to quarterback Max Brosmer.
4. Phillip Daniels , OT
Injuries at Minnesota late last year led Daniels to move up the depth chart at right tackle, where he started the final four games of the regular season. He showed promise as a redshirt freshman. Spanning 150 pass blocking snaps, he allowed only one sack against Rutgers, according to Pro Football Focus. At 6 feet 5 and 315 pounds, he has the prototypical size for a starting offensive tackle in the Big Ten.
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Other available offensive tackles were more established, and Daniels' inexperience showed at times in his first month as a starter, drawing three penalties, including two for false starts. But expect Daniels to be one of the Buckeyes' best options to replace Josh Fryar , a stalwart at right tackle. None of Ohio State's returning scholarship tackles have been with the program for more than a season. Unless the Buckeyes bump a guard to tackle, Daniels would compete with Ian Moore , the highest-ranked offensive lineman they signed in last year's high school recruiting class.
Transfer running back CJ Donaldson surpassed 2,000 rushing yards over three seasons at West Virginia before joining the Ohio State Buckeyes.
3. CJ Donaldson , RB
Donaldson is an experienced running back who surpassed 2,000 rushing yards over three seasons at West Virginia . He was the Mountaineers' starting back in 2023 when he ran for a career-best 798 yards and 11 touchdowns and split carries with Jahiem White last season. With a 6-foot-2, 238-pound frame, Donaldson is a bruising runner moving between the tackles and shaking off potential tacklers. He has gained 63.8% of his career rushing yards after contact, per PFF.
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The Buckeyes are expected to lean on Donaldson to help replace TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins , who are moving on to the NFL, especially as their backfield lacks proven commodities. James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon, sophomores who combined for 250 yards and two touchdowns as backups last season, are the only returners at the position with any carries. A talented freshman class that included three signees is joining the mix, but Donaldson should feature heavily in the rotation, if not become the starting back.
At Purdue last season, Max Klare accumulated 338 yards after the catch, ranking him 11th among all tight ends in the Football Bowl Subdivision, per Pro Football Focus.
2. Max Klare , TE
Klare was one of the few bright spots last fall for Purdue , which finished 1-11 in its worst season in a decade. He led the Boilermakers in receiving with 51 catches for 685 yards and four touchdowns, earning an All-Big Ten third-team selection by the league's coaches. He was not only reliable as a target but productive after the catch. He accumulated 338 yards after the catch, ranking 11thamong all tight ends in the Football Bowl Subdivision, per PFF.
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The receiving ability of Klare should complement Will Kacmarek, an experienced blocking tight end who returns for his fifth year. Kacmarek caught eight passes last season despite a midseason shoulder injury that sidelined him for four games and had at least 20 receptions in his previous two years at Ohio, but Klare has a proven track record of production at the FBS's highest level. Even with a star-studded group of wide receivers led by Jeremiah Smith , look for Klare to be involved in the passing game.
1. Ethan Onianwa , OT
As Rice 's starting left tackle last season, Onianwa anchored an offensive line that allowed the sixth-fewest sacks in the nation. PFF attributed only one of the 11 sacks surrendered by the Owls to Onianwa, who boasts a mammoth frame at 6 feet 6 and 345 pounds. Among 225 offensive tackles with at least 300 pass blocking snaps in 2024, he ranked 21stin pass blocking efficiency.
The experience, which combines 34 career starts between right tackle, where he started in 2022 to the blind side, where he eventually switched, makes Onianwa an obvious plug-and-play fit for the Buckeyes. OSU must replace Fryar, as well as Donovan Jackson , who slid over from left guard to fill in at left tackle for Josh Simmons for the last nine games. The dearth of experienced tackles remaining on Ohio State's roster makes it easy to project Onianwa as the starter on the left side, much like Daniels on the right side.
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Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com .
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This story was updated to add a gallery.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: College football 2025 transfer portal: Best Ohio State winter signings
