Remember when Ryan Day fiercely defended the two portal window idea back in February! It made a lot of sense since the Buckeyes had their season ended late, and having no second portal left their future severely jeopardized. Now, while the winter portal deadline called for immediate action, they were busy deciding on their existing season. But since we have the spring portal this season, the story took a U-turn. Going from a mass exodus right after the championship glory to get his roster locked up in the spring, Coach Day emerged as a heck of a transfer portal strategist amidst the ongoing turmoil over the NIL market.

Ryan Day had a bittersweet year at Columbus last year. He took a gut punch during the routine annual Michigan game and couldn’t justify their 13-10 loss. The situation went so extreme at one point in time that Day started to receive death threats over the internet. The veteran head coach was forced to appoint security for safety. People could see one solution: Natty or a bust! Day chose the first and tirelessly worked on the glaring issues. There has been no looking back since then. The Buckeyes made the Irish pay for something they didn’t do. The epic 34-23 was the highlight of their hard redemption. But it came with an awful aftereffect. The team witnessed a mass exodus of their key figures, including Will Howard, defensive end Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, and more.

This had to stop, and two months down, Day didn’t lose a single stone from his squad. Kris Drew from the Menace 2 Sports revealed a relaxing reality of the Ohio State locker room this Spring, “Ohio State hasn’t had any transfers. They have not had any big time. The only people who have transferred have been like the fourth, fifth, and sixth guys down the depth chart. Like long guys that you don’t care about losing.”

The transfer portal saga is getting amped up day by day with players flying like a bee for the honey. Loyalty is a joke in this NIL era. The spring game tradition is haunted by tampering and poaching concerns. But Ohio State couldn’t care less. “In the world of college football, when everybody is flipping and hitting the portal and leaving, and schools like Michigan feel like they have to protect their team by not having a spring game, while the portal’s open, Ohio State did it. They’re incredibly talented,” said Kris Drew. “They had some young players make some big plays, and then nobody transferred… I don’t know what it means. To me, it’s that Ryan Day has the culture locked down.”

The culture question, on the other hand, can be a pressing ultimatum for Julian Sayin.

Julian Sayin received a harsh reality check 

Ryan Day has been instrumental in building a holistic culture at the Ohio State. The title win didn’t only depict the talent he had, but also what he has built with his $20 million roster. He believes culture stands as an integral ingredient to success. Following the trophy lift, Day became more relaxed in his approach. He can easily surpass any flak that used to impact his decision-making in the past. Day, in his own right, doesn’t want to hurry naming his starting quarterback for the upcoming season.

Julian Sayin, the most anticipated QB to make a splash next season, continues testing his potential in contrast with the other two contending QBs in the line. He stood out in the spring scrimmage but had some throwing issues in the initial weeks. On the other hand, Lincoln Kienholz continued to carve out his path, showing a brilliant balance in the scrimmage.

“If he doesn’t win the job one more power Kienholz, because he was probably balling all fall camp to take that job from Julian Sayin. Two, the competition in itself, we keep saying that’s going to feed the beast,” On3’s J.D. PicKell raised a red flag for Sayin heading deeper into the competitive off-season. He also believes Ryan Day, fostering a championship culture in the locker room, will be highly intuitive and picky while selecting the starter. So, Sayin needs to shoulder a lot of responsibilities to sustain the hype.