When the Ohio State Buckeyes step on the field against Ball State in Week 1 of the college football season, they’ll have a much different looking team than a year ago. Ohio State lost 11 players to the NFL Draft and north of 30 players opted to enter the transfer portal, mostly depth pieces from the back end of the roster. 

The Buckeyes’ defense specifically is going to look a lot different, and it’s why they had to hit the transfer portal this winter to land a few difference-makers for defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s unit.

Ohio State’s defensive line is set to feature three new starters, and while Alabama transfer James Smith has generated most of the offseason buzz, it’s actually UCF transfer John Walker who might end up starting next to defensive tackle Eddrick Houston when the season opens.

John Walker’s path from UCF to Columbus

Walker was a player the Buckeyes recruited out of high school in Florida in the class of 2023, but he opted to stay home and play for Central Florida. The now 6-foot-2, 324-pound defensive lineman missed the entire 2024 season with an injury, but in 12 games last year with UCF, he recorded 40 tackles and a sack. As a freshman in 2023, he had 24 tackles and a half sack to his name.

An interesting tidbit recently came from Lettermen Row’s Jeremy Birmingham.

“That’s why we think there’s a very good chance that it’ll actually be Walker—not James Smith—who is next to Eddrick Houston when the season opens,” Birmingham wrote. “The buzz around Walker is growing and it’ll pick up after fans and the media get to see him over these first three days of training camp.”

Why John Walker fills a specific need for Ohio State

Walker is a big human at his listed size and could fill some of the run-stopping needs the Buckeyes have after losing Kayden McDonald to the NFL from last year’s team. Houston is more of a 3-tech who is going to get after the passer from the interior. Walker can be more of that run-stopping defensive tackle for Ohio State, and the two could complement each other well.

Both Walker and Smith are going to play a lot for the Buckeyes this season. Getting both defensive tackles out of the transfer portal was needed. Fourth-year players Will Smith Jr. and Jason Moore will round out Ohio State’s defensive tackle rotation, and the position could feature more of a rotation this year than fans are used to seeing.

Ohio State is going to have multiple contributors along the interior, and it sounds like the transfer Walker could be one of the most important pieces for defensive line coach Larry Johnson’s group heading into fall camp.