The Ohio State Buckeyes have as high expectations as ever in 2026 under head coach Ryan Day. Superstar wideout Jeremiah Smith is in his final season before he’ll jump to the NFL, and Day returns the same starting quarterback with Julian Sayin, which hasn’t happened often for him. 

Still, the Buckeyes had a lot of turnover with 11 players drafted back in April, and north of 30 opting to hit the portal. Ohio State didn’t lose any starters to the transfer portal while addressing its own needs there along with a strong freshman class. 

Multiple newcomers to Columbus on the current team are going to have a chance to be starters in 2026. Don’t be surprised to see these three players out there early and often, including against Texas in Week 2.

WR Chris Henry Jr. 

The expectations are undoubtedly high for Henry coming into Ohio State for multiple reasons. Henry was a longtime five-star Ohio State commitment before he eventually got on campus, so there was some wait with him. Also, his late father was quite a good football player for the Cincinnati Bengals before he was killed. The Buckeyes freshman is 6-foot-5, 195 pounds, and has the type of frame that should win downfield a ton at the college level. 

Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss lock in two starting spots for the Buckeyes. Devin McCuinn, Kyle Parker, and Henry are all battling for the third spot. All of these players are going to play for the Buckeyes, but it’ll be interesting to see who the third player is that ends up being on the field the most. Henry has a great chance to be that guy as a freshman, though we can’t put unfair Smith-like expectations on him. 

EDGE Qua Russaw 

Ohio State went out a year ago and got Beau Atkinson out of the transfer portal. They hope he can be a legit contributor for them this season, as the former All-ACC standout wasn’t able to do so a year ago. Ohio State again got EDGE help this year in the portal, and Russaw will have a chance to start opposite Kenyatta Jackson for the Buckeyes this fall. 

Russaw is a physical player who can set the edge from a standup spot, but has some pass rush upside to him at 6-foot-2, 243 pounds. Ohio State is going to have multiple pass rushers helping them in 2026 besides the returning Jackson, and Russaw has as good a chance as any to lead the way. 

LB Christian Alliegro

Ohio State got an All-Big Ten level player in the transfer portal with Alliegro and his experience is going to help the losses of Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. All signs point toward Alliegro starting for the Buckeyes in 2026 as a true Swiss Army Knife. Alliegro can rush the passer (four sacks in 2025), and he gets all over the field (119 tackles in the last two seasons). 

The Buckeyes don’t have much in terms of experience returning outside of Payton Pierce. Alliegro can be locked in as the second linebacker and a player Matt Patricia deploys in a multitude of ways. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him coming off the EDGE at times with mismatch ability.