Former Ohio State football transfer landed a big opportunity not far from home in the 2026 NFL Draft
Great news for the former Ohio State football transfer who was a success at the college level after transferring away. Now, he’s returning not far from Columbus.
The Ohio State Buckeyes had themselves a weekend as a football program with the 2026 NFL Draft taking place. Ohio State had 11 players drafted overall this past weekend and it makes 25 over the last two years.
It wasn’t just current Buckeyes being drafted, a couple of former Buckeyes heard their names called in the draft as well. You can thank the transfer portal for it happening.
Cleveland Browns gave their fans a former Ohio State Buckeye
The Browns needed a tight end in the draft an they went with an ex-Buckeye to fill the role. Buckeye Will Kacmarek was a likely target for them at the position, but it was former Ohio State TE Joe Royer who heard his name called on Saturday.
Royer spent the first three seasons of his college career buried in the tight end depth chart before he transferred to Cincinnati. Once with the Bearcats, Royer was able to work on showing he’s a capable NFL player, and the Browns took a swing.
Royer was a four-star and No. 14 tight end in the 2020 recruiting class from Cincinnati Elder and he played in 14 games at Ohio State. The now Browns tight end had just four catches for 24 receiving yards in an Ohio State uniform.
Once he transferred to Cincinnati, Royer wasted no time in breaking out with a 50 catch season totaling 521 receiving yards with three touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end had 416 receiving yards on just 29 catches and four touchdowns last season with the Bearcats.
Royer’s time at Ohio State didn’t work out with playing time despite sticking around for three years. But it certainly worked out for him once he left Ohio State — and it’s an example of the good stories the transfer portal can create.
