Another veteran Buckeye reportedly enters transfer portal

Despite that attrition — and another dozen players graduating and/or entering the professional ranks — coach Ryan Day’s roster appears to be in pretty good shape for the fall.

A college football team can never have enough offensive line depth, but Vimahi appeared to be passed by younger players this spring after he struggled in a surprise start in the Cotton Bowl in late December.

A fifth-year senior already, he is among a handful of Buckeye transfers who are looking to use their extra season of eligibility at another school after playing through the COVID pandemic in the fall of 2020.

Vimahi, receiver Julian Fleming (Penn State), running back Chip Trayanum (Kentucky), offensive lineman Vic Cutler (Louisville) and safety Ja’Had Carter (to be determined) all would have been out of eligibility under normal circumstances, so their decisions swelled the number of transfers for this year.

Of course, the portal goes both ways, and Ohio State welcomed in several high-profile transfers, too.

Day replaced starting quarterback Kyle McCord with Will Howard, a senior who earned second-team All-Big 12 twice at Kansas State, while Seth McLaughlin brings two seasons of starting experience (Alabama) with him to the offensive line room.

Will Kacmarek was not a household name Ohio University, but he should help fortify a tight end room that lost Cade Stover to the NFL and transfers Joe Royer (Cincinnati) and Sam Hart (Colorado).

All-SEC running back Quinshon Judkins (Mississippi) is joining the a running backs group that lost two scholarship transfers (and coach Tony Alford to Michigan) but retained All-Big Ten senior TreVeyon Henderson.

That is an area where depth could be a concern, though, and the same can be said of safety despite the arrival of 2023 Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Caleb Downs from Alabama.

Losing Carter as well as senior Cam Martinez (Boston College) and youngsters Kye Stokes (Cincinnati) and Cedrick Hawkins (Central Florida) leaves only five scholarship players, but a deep cornerbacks room could share bodies if necessary.

The attrition also puts an onus on 2023 signees Malik Hartford of Lakota West and Jayden Bonsu to be next in line behind Downs and senior Lathan Ransom.

Hartford saw action in nine games last season but was limited in spring ball with an unidentified injury while Bonsu appeared to make some strides after redshirting last fall.

No new cornerbacks transferred in, but that room added transfers Davison Igbinosun (Mississippi) and Lorenzo Styles Jr. (Notre Dame) last year along with a handful of highly-rated freshmen in the class of 2024 so coaches Tim Walton and Matt Guerreri should have some options one way or another.