Buckeyes Now

Ohio State Loses Former Top Recruit in Transfer Portal

The Ohio State Buckeyes have watched a former top recruit bolt Columbus in the transfer portal.

Matthew Schmidt

Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes helmets sit on the sideline prior to the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. Ohio State won 23-3.
Sep 2, 2023; Bloomington, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes helmets sit on the sideline prior to the NCAA football game at Indiana University Memorial Stadium. Ohio State won 23-3. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Ohio State Buckeyes have lost a former four-star recruit to the NCAA transfer portal, as safety Jayden Bonsu has moved on to the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Bonsu committed to Ohio State for 2023 and spent two years at Columbus, but he was unable to land any playing time in the Buckeyes' loaded secondary.

This marks the sixth player the Buckeyes have lost to the transfer portal this winter, as tackles Zen Michalski and Miles Walker, wide receiver Jayden Ballard, linebacker Gabe Powers and quarterback Air Noland have also departed.

Ohio State is also expected to lose quarterback Devin Brown and wide out Kojo Antwi, although both players are still currently on the roster.

For the Buckeyes, losing players to the portal is typically not a huge deal.

Of course, there have been times that players have departed Ohio State to become stars (hello, Joe Burrow), but usually, the Buckeyes are deep enough where these losses won't hurt.

Heck, the reason why players tend to leave Columbus is because the team is so deep and playing time tends to be scarce.

At the moment, Ohio State is busy trying to win a national championship, so the transfer portal is certainly not at the forefront of its mind.

Plus, the Buckeyes are so terrific at recruiting that it definitely makes the need for success in the portal less pressing.

Ohio State is coming off of a dominant win over the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl and will be facing the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl next Friday.

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Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

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