Ohio State appears to be very close on a transfer portal quarterback and recieves great news from…

The Buckeyes appear set and prepared to compete in the transfer portal.

With Kyle McCord’s transfer to Syracuse, the Buckeyes’ focus has switched to Devin Brown, not only as the starter for the Cotton Bowl, but potentially for the entire 2024 season if all goes well. Instead, Brown’s unfortunate injury allowed him to miss most of the game, and while the jury is still out on him after only two series, this team’s directive to add a true signal caller has been raised.

The Cotton Bowl loss was neither Brown’s or Lincoln Kienholz’ fault, but with the game behind them, this program has to bring in someone with expertise. You can’t bet the 2024 season on hope, and if it offends or causes a current roster player to leave, so be it. It’s a new age in college football, and with the way the squad performed this year, that position cannot be up for grabs again.

The whispers have been circulating for days, but Kansas State transfer Will Howard’s smoke is nearly catching fire at this point. Multiple sites have gone so far as to imply that Howard is a done deal for the Buckeyes, and if that is the case, Ohio State will have improved the standard of play in the current room.

Although not the top Justin Field-type transfer one hopes for — there aren’t many of those — if the Buckeyes are able to land Howard, it provides them with an experienced presence in the room who has plenty of experience playing in big time games as a starter. With Brown, Kienholz, and, eventually, Air Noland in the mix, Ohio State would not only have a solid battle for the starting job, but would also take the next step in terms of confidence that the team had a real dude under center.

Buckeyes get a major player to return for 2024

If Ohio State hopes to compete for a national championship again next season, it must solve a number of issues. The Buckeyes’ on-field product and personnel difficulties haven’t been particularly popular with fans in the last month or two, but even when this program appears to be “down,” the ultimate result is still an 11-2 season, which is a pretty high floor all things considered.