Ohio State transfer portal success: How Buckeyes landed Caleb Downs, Julian Sayin, Quinshon Judkins

With a flurry of high-profile commitments during a busy month on the recruiting trail, Ohio State positioned itself for a run at the national championship in the earliest days of the 2024 offseason. Ryan Day and his staff went all-in on the transfer portal market, securing instant-impact talent at some of the most important positions and building a formidable roster on both sides of the ball.

The Buckeyes became the only program to secure a pair of five-star commits in the 2024 transfer cycle when they picked up pledges from quarterback Julian Sayin and Safety Caleb Downs by way of Alabama. Their transfer haul is small at just six total commits, yet it ranks No. 8 nationally with by far the highest per-player rating of any class.

Recapping Ohio State’s outstanding accomplishments in the portal, insider Tom Loy detailed on the 247Sports Recruiting Podcast how the Buckeyes pulled off the biggest recruiting victories of the new year and generated tremendous amounts of momentum ahead of a critical sixth season under Day.

Loy: “I feel like sources were all over the board when it came to Judkins, because when I reached out to somebody, the first two teams that were mentioned for me were Ohio State and Florida State. I was told Florida State just wasn’t going to be able to get involved… Shoutout to Ohio State for stepping it up when it comes to NIL. They are tired of losing to Michigan. They’re tired of not winning the national championship. And they’re doing all they can, legally, to take that team to the next level.”

Ohio State might be the biggest winner in the immediate aftermath of Nick Saban’s retirement, as it picked up commitments from some of Alabama’s most crucial young players — Caleb Downs included. While many assumed Downs would follow former Crimson Tide assistant Travaris Robinson to Georgia, the Freshman All-American and leading tackler on the Alabama defense selected Ohio State as his next home. Downs should be one of the top performers on what could be the nation’s best defense next fall.

Ryan Day could have his quarterback of the future in Julian Sayin, who enrolled early at Alabama after signing with the program as the No. 3 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class. He entered the transfer portal after Saban’s retirement and quickly pledged to the Buckeyes, giving them a second blue-chip quarterback from the latest recruiting cycle. Sayin’s stock skyrocketed over the last six months as he earned the Elite 11 Finals MVP honor last summer and won the Gatorade California Player of the Year award at the end of his senior year at Carlsbad (Calif.) High.

Loy: “I think in the end, it was Ryan Day’s decision, but he wanted Bill O’Brien to have his guy. There was nobody he wanted more than Julian Sayin. I know they landed a really good player in Air Noland, and obviously you look at the rest of the room — it’s loaded. But in the end, you want your guys to have exactly who they want in that room, and in my opinion, Julian Sayin’s an absolute dawg… Very impressive talent. I think he’s going to take Ohio State to that next level after Will Howard.”

With Sayin’s arrival, Ohio State yet again boasts an embarrassment of riches at the quarterback position. The Buckeyes’ lack of depth in the most important room last season was a glaring weakness, but with Day and Co. focusing on a quick turnaround, they rebuilt the group into the same kind of juggernaut that produced numerous NFL prospects over the last handful of years. Kansas State transfer Will Howard still projects as the Week 1 starter, but he now faces much more competition, and the future after his stint atop the depth chart looks significantly brighter.

There is a new Crystal Ball in for Burley (Idaho) receiver Gatlin Bair.

The highest-rated player to ever come from Idaho, Bair, who was named a five-star by 247Sports last week, has now been Crystal Balled to Oregon by myself and national recruiting director Steve Wiltfong.