The transfer portal is now just as big, if not bigger than recruiting high school players. There isn’t a team that has done better this off-season at getting better than Ohio State, and it shows in ESPN’s Top 100 newcomers for the 2024 season.

Ohio State has some marquee players come from the SEC this offseason. Former Alabama safety Caleb Downs and Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins were named the No. 1 and No. 2 top newcomers in all of college football. Judkins teams up with TreVeyon Henderson to form the best running back duo in the country, while Downs anchors what should be the best defense in college football.

If there was a weakness for the Buckeyes entering the offseason, it was the quarterback position. Once again though, Ohio State was aggressive in the portal, as former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard joined the team.

Howard, the No. 11 player on the list, is a big athlete, who has never had the talent of receivers and running backs that he does now in Columbus.

One of those top receiver targets will be a freshman wide receiver in Jeremiah Smith, who is No. 10 on the list. Smith joined the Buckeyes in January as the No. 1 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class to prepare for the season, and he has been a monster during the preseason practices.

Ohio State is always loaded at the receiver position, as Smith joins Emeka Egbuka and many other talented players. The 5-star freshman

The Buckeyes are as talented of a team as there is in college football, and a big reason why is because of the newcomers they brought in the offseason.