Ohio State's Lincoln Kienholz and Bryce West are the Next Buckeyes to Hit the Portal
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For the first time in this NIL era, the Ohio State Buckeyes are on the wrong end of the transfer portal.
Head coach Ryan Day has built such an incredible culture of winning and development that when players come into the program, they typically decide to stay, even if it means only one or two years of actually competing on the field.
That tide may be turning as there has been a mini mass exodus of players hitting the transfer portal after the Buckeyes' season ended on Wednesday in Dallas.
The first player to enter the portal was Bryson Rodgers, who submitted his name to the portal after the Big Ten Championship game and was the first player to decide to leave the program.
Then, Wednesday night, a mere couple of minutes after the Cotton Bowl Classic went final, Jelani Thurman's agent announced that Thurman would be hitting the portal. The next group of players to hit the portal waited until the morning to make their decision.
The headliner of the group is backup quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. Kienholz had a legitimate chance at being the Buckeyes' starting quarterback this season until he was beat out in fall camp by Julian Sayin. Kienholz stayed a part of the weekly game plans, and he got several short-yardage packages and would come in for cleanup duty when games were out of hand.
On the year, he threw for just 139 yards and a touchdown but was actually effective running the football. He had 56 yards on the ground for 2 touchdowns. He was very outspoken early in the Cotton Bowl week about the fact that his goal is to go to the NFL, and to do that, he needs to see the field.
He will hopefully get his chance elsewhere.
Joining those three in the portal is cornerback Bryce West. The young defensive back came to Columbus as a top-75 recruit in the country and just got stuck behind some elite talent that he was unable to crack. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Lastly, deep on the quarterback depth chart is senior Mason Maggs. Maggs, a native of Dublin, Ohio, is hitting the portal. He will have two years of eligibility remaining for his future school.
This is likely not the end of the guys who will be hitting the portal for Ohio State. The unfortunate reality is that the Buckeyes simply have a stockpile of elite talent, and it is impossible to get them all on the field.
These are first-class problems for the Buckeyes, but for the first time under Ryan Day,the Buckeyes are active in getting into the portal, and Ohio State is going to have to be very active in acquiring players in the portal.
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