For most coaches, the transfer portal is a key weapon that they can utilize to bolster their roster. Lane Kiffin has made it his habit to construct his teams out of the portal. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is thankful that the Buckeyes got transfer players who’ll help them next year. However, he is also not keen on overrelying on the portal.

“I said it before, it’s not year to year, but it’s getting that way, right?” Ryan Day said in an interview with NBC Sports on August 6. “And I don’t like it. But that’s why we have to make sure that we build a culture and do it the right way. And as a coaching staff, we have to emphasize what it means to be at Ohio State, not just a pass-through to come in and play for championships. No, you have to leave something behind.”

Things have gotten complicated for powerhouses as rivals can now throw money to lure prospects away from them. That’s even true for existing players who may not be getting the playing time they want. That usually results in a kind of attrition that no coaching staff wants to see as they prepare for another season.

This is made worse by the fact that programs like Ohio State also end up losing a lot of players to the NFL. The Buckeyes had 11 players picked in the 2026 NFL Draft. Four of these players were in the top 11 of the draft.

Imagine losing Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles from your LB room. Add to that the likes of Caleb Downs, Kayden McDonald, and Davison Igbinosun. The Buckeyes lost the spine of their defense. And if that wasn’t enough, 30 other players entered the portal. A few weeks ago, Day talked about how the coaching staff instills the value of playing for Ohio State in the newcomers.

To protect the historic “Buckeye Way” from turning into a purely transactional, year-to-year free agency, Ryan Day and his coaching staff have deployed a very specific hybrid approach to roster management. Ohio State actively uses the transfer portal but forces incoming players to assimilate into an old-school culture.

“The long tradition. The pride of wearing that jersey and what it means, even just thinking about the Block O award,” Day said during his Big Ten Media Day interview on July 29. “We didn’t just give that to anybody; you had to earn the Block O around here. That means a lot to so many people.”

For the 2026 season, the Buckeyes have added key pieces from the portal. On the defensive line and edge, James Smith and Qua Russaw came from Alabama. John Walker is an addition from UCF. Duke and Florida State transfers Terry Moore and Earl Little Jr. are key pieces in the secondary.

However, as Day stressed, the idea is not to do it every year. That’s why the 28-man freshman class is important as well. The likes of Devin Sanchez, Chris Heny Jr., and Jay Timmons can replicate what Jeremiah Smith is doing by giving his full eligibility to a single program.